First lady Melania Trump and Ukraine’s Olena Zelenska have joined a campaign exposing Russia’s multibillion-dollar operation to kidnap and indoctrinate Ukrainian children, the spokesperson said.
While labeling Russia’s “calculated” attempts to attack his country’s future, Maksym Maksymov said of Bring kids back UA said the contrasting roles of the two first ladies make the organization’s message even stronger.
Melania Trump’s recent work has helped highlight cases of seven Ukrainian children being reunited with their parents. In October, the mother of one supported eight more children.
FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP ANNOUNCES 8 UKRAINIAN CHILDREN REUNITED WITH FAMILIES AFTER ADMISSION TO RUSSIA
First lady Melania Trump speaks during a naturalization ceremony at the National Archives building in Washington, DC (Saul Loeb)
“Melania Trump uses her voice as a mother and compassionate public figure to bring global attention to children who might otherwise be forgotten,” Maksymov said.
“When she speaks, people listen, and she chose to use that influence to bring the suffering of Ukrainian children directly to the attention of the person responsible for their abductions. That takes courage,” he added. “Melania recognizes their pain, emphasizes the urgency of bringing these children home, and emphasizes a simple truth: that children belong to the people who love them, and that their return must be unconditional.”
MELANIA TRUMP NAMED FOX NATION ‘PATRIOT OF THE YEAR’ FOR GLOBAL CHILD ADVOCACY WORK
Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s first lady, is trying to expose Russia’s multibillion-dollar operation to kidnap and indoctrinate Ukrainian children. (Michael Reynolds/Pool Photo via AP)
Meanwhile, Olena Zelenska, he said, is involved on the ground.
“Our first lady, Olena Zelenska, has been a constant and essential presence in this work. She visits hospitals, shelters, schools and churches across Ukraine and meets children who have experienced trauma that no child should ever experience,” Maksymov explained.
In response to the organization’s work, Ukraine has since criminalized the deportation of children, their forced militarization, and obstructing their return.
Melania Trump joins Ukraine’s Olena Zelenska in the fight against Russia’s systematic child abduction program. (Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images; Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Sanctions were also imposed on individuals involved in kidnappings and illegal adoptions.
THE STOLEN CHILD CRISIS IN UKRAINE GOT BIG AS NATO MEETS ON THE RUSSIAN WAR
Ukrainian orphans are seen during a stopover in Warsaw, Poland, on their way to Britain, on March 21, 2022. (Pawel Kuczynski/AP Photo)
President Donald Trump then personally delivered the message to the Russian leader before their summit in Alaska that month.
But since Russia’s large-scale invasion in 2022, the illegal removal of children remains a concern.
According to Bring Kids Back UA, launched by Zelenska, nearly 20,000 children are reportedly taken, although Maksym emphasizes that “each case requires individual verification because Russia blocks access, hides information and often changes children’s identities.”
So far, he said, “Ukraine has fully verified 9,221 cases,” but thousands of others remain missing.
An example of Russia’s coercive system, he said, is the case of Bohdan Yermokhin, whose experiences Ukrainian officials describe in detail.
DEM SENATOR SAYS MELANIA TRUMP AMERICA’S ‘SECRET WEAPON’ AGAINST PUTIN’S ‘WAR CRIME’
People and medical staff respond to the rocket attack on a children’s hospital in Kiev. (AP/Anton Shtuka)
“One case that shows both the brutality of this crime and the resilience of these children is this story.”
After being taken to Russia, “he was pressured to give up his Ukrainian identity and exposed to propaganda aimed at reshaping the way he viewed his own country.”
His ordeal highlights what Maksym said: Russia’s deliberate “kidnapping of Ukrainian children as part of a strategy to erase their identities and mold them into something they are not.”
“Russia is spending billions on systems that militarize and indoctrinate these children instead of sending them back,” Maksym claimed.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“Ukraine’s position is clear. Every abducted child must be returned unconditionally. There can be no peace as long as even one child remains in Russian hands,” he said. “The war has taken their childhood away. Children live with bombings, displacement, fear and the loss of everything known. This is calculated. It is systematic and aimed at the future of Ukraine.”
