May 1 (UPI) -- U.S. First Lady Melania Trump was instrumental in securing the return of at least 26 Ukrainian children abducted by Russia over the past several months, Ukraine's top human rights official said.
Speaking at a Bring Kids Back event in Kyiv on Thursday, Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukraine Parliament's Human Rights Commissioner, said Trump had become an important ally in negotiating with Moscow to return children to their families from Russia and regions under Russian control.
"She helps us a lot... It is clear that the involvement of the first lady of the United States makes it [negotiating with Russia] easier for me in some sense," said Lubinets, who added that Moscow "can't avoid" responding to Ukrainian requests when they were routed via the White House.
He said that his office held weekly discussions with Trump regarding the issue.
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