Priest begs Trump to save kidnapped Ukrainian children

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In a heartfelt appeal, the priest who offered prayers for President Trump shortly before a near-fatal assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., is now urging the president to protect thousands of Ukrainian children currently held in Russian custody.

Father Jason Charron, pastor of Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Carnegie, Pa., and father of seven, penned a moving letter to Trump, reminding him of their connection through the July 13, 2024 rally where he delivered the opening prayer.

“On July 13, 2024, I led the invocation at your rally in Butler, Pennsylvania,” Father Jason Charron began a letter addressed to Trump.

“Our collective prayers were a shield for you — a shield that called on God to protect you from the assassin’s bullets,” continued Charron, the pastor of Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Carnegie, Pa., southwest of Pittsburgh and a father of seven children.

“Mr. President, I call on you to be a shield for the Ukrainian people and for tens of thousands of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia,” he wrote.

SAVE UKRAINE’S KIDS!!

During the war, over 20,000 Ukrainian children🇺🇦 have been kidnapped by Russia🇷🇺.

📌 Few of them have been able to return home to Ukraine🇺🇦.

📌 Russia must be held accountable for these war crimes!

📌 Arming 🇺🇦 saves kids.

👉RT so they’re not forgotten! pic.twitter.com/RPqXM02CJr

— Jason Jay Smart (@officejjsmart) November 21, 2023

The significance of Charron’s warning became evident when, moments after cautioning the audience about potential threats to Trump’s safety, gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire, discharging eight rounds into the crowd.

“You were saved by God for a reason,” Charron’s letter to Trump reads. “You have the opportunity to save tens of thousands of Ukrainian children and play a historic role in returning them to their families.”

The situation is dire, with Ukrainian authorities estimating that Russia has forcibly relocated more than 19,000 children during the three-year conflict. These children face concerning fates, with some being sent to military training facilities while others endure “re-education” programs away from their families.

The United Nations has condemned Russia’s actions, labeling the deportation of Ukrainian children a “war crime” and demanding their immediate return from Putin’s regime.

In a conversation with The Post, Charron expressed concern that amid discussions about financial and material resources, the plight of these children is being overlooked in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

During a recent Fox News radio interview with Brian Kilmeade, Trump acknowledged the possibility of addressing the issue with Putin, stating, “I believe I could, yes. I didn’t know too much about it. I was hearing about it yesterday. It’s pretty tough stuff, but I believe I could do that.”

🇺🇦 CHILDREN RESCUED FROM 🇷🇺

10 more 🇺🇦 children, taken illegally to Russia 🇷🇺, have been returned to Ukraine by the humanitarian organization “Save Ukraine,” which has saved 141 kids, so far, over 9 missions. pic.twitter.com/Mh2cl0IHET

— Jason Jay Smart (@officejjsmart) August 2, 2023

In his letter, Charron implores Trump to reject any peace agreement that would abandon these children to “Russia’s wicked designs.”

“And please ask yourself — if Russia’s only goal was to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, why kidnap so many children? Why castrate Ukrainian POWs? I assure you, Mr. President, that Russia’s designs are far more sinister than preventing Ukraine from joining a geopolitical alliance: it is the destruction of an entire people for daring to look at the West.”

“A nation that rapes women and bombs maternity wards can not be trusted with the children it has stolen,” Charron told The Post.

While a Trump-Putin meeting remains unscheduled, diplomatic preparations continue. Meanwhile, Trump is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House to discuss a potential US-Ukraine joint mineral fund agreement.

The White House has not yet responded to The Post’s request for comment.