WASHINGTON — Melania Trump took the unique step of crafting a letter that calls for peace in Ukraine, having her husband President Donald Trump hand-deliver it to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their Friday meeting in Alaska.

The letter did not specifically name Ukraine, which Putin's forces invaded in 2022, but beseeched him to think of children and “an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology.” Nor did the American first lady discuss the fighting other than to say to Putin that he could “singlehandedly restore” the “melodic laughter” of children who have been caught in the conflict.

“In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone — you serve humanity itself,” she wrote on White House stationery.

A copy of the le

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