DONALD Trump had a B-2 stealth bomber fly over Vladimir Putin’s head as they greeted each other in Alaska for showdown talks.
The pair were last night locked in face-to-face negotiations after the astonishing show of force by the US President.
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Meeting his Russian counterpart on the tarmac at a military base in Anchorage last night, the Americans lined up four £300million F-22 fighter jets on the ground for an historic handshake photo op.
The two presidents then had a moment alone in Mr Trump’s limo — nicknamed The Beast — ahead of closed-door talks about ending the war in Ukraine.
It was the first time in almost a decade that Putin had set foot on US soil.
He is an internationally-wanted war criminal for his bloody three-and-a-half year Ukraine invasion.
The Russian leader grinned as he and Trump later posed for the world’s media.
Heckled by journalists over whether he was “ready to stop killing civilians”, the Kremlin tyrant smirked and pointed to the skies.
At one point, Putin shouted back to journalists, but it is not clear what he said.
Trump also dodged questions on how he could possibly trust Putin.
He ducked a planned one-on-one meeting with the Russian leader, instead opting to meet alongside officials including his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
The presidents were expected to host a joint press conference in the early hours of this morning, after the Kremlin expressed wishes for talks to last for up to six hours.
Ahead of the historic meet, both sides were flexing their muscles.
The Russian jet which flew their delegation to Alaska served Chicken Kiev — the garlicky dish named after the Ukrainian capital.
And the Americans served waffles on Air Force One — as Trump warned travelling journalists he would walk out of the talks if the pair did not make good ground on securing a ceasefire.
Putin was forced to disembark in front of some of the most sophisticated US military kit — and was treated to a humiliating flypast of the US B-2 stealth bomber escorted by F-35 fighters.
Hours earlier, Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov swaggered into Alaska wearing a sweater emblazoned with “CCCP” — Russian for USSR, the initials of the Soviet empire Putin wants to rebuild.
The veteran Foreign Secretary was dressed unusually casually in jeans and gilet.
Franak Viacorka, a Putin critic from Belarus, said the jumper was “a clear nod to the Putin regime’s imperial ambitions”.
He said: “They’re stuck in the past and want to pull Ukraine and Belarus back with them, forgetting we are free nations that will never return to their ‘brotherhood’.”
The collapse of the USSR led to 15 nations, including Ukraine, gaining their independence.
But Putin has called that collapse the greatest tragedy of the 20th Century.
And he has made no secret of his goal to restore Russia’s greatness by recapturing lands.
Anton Gerashchenko, an ex-aide to Ukraine’s interior ministry, said: “The Russian delegation are trying to present the Alaska meeting as a remake of the summits of the superpowers.”
They’re stuck in the past and want to pull Ukraine and Belarus back with them, forgetting we are free nations that will never return to their ‘brotherhood
Franak Viačorka, a Putin critic from Belarus
Trump said a land swap would “be discussed” at yesterday’s meeting.
But he insisted: “I’ve got to let Ukraine make that decision.”
Speaking on Air Force One as he flew from Washington DC to Alaska, he said: “I’m not here to negotiate for Ukraine, I’m here to get him at the table.”
And he set the terms of the talks and his hopes of a ceasefire, saying: “I wouldn’t be thrilled if I didn’t get it.” He told Fox News: “I won’t be happy if I walk away without some form of a ceasefire”.
He also suggested a second meeting could happen, but only if current talks did not collapse.
Trump was joined on Air Force One by CIA director John Ratcliffe, Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and his peace envoy Steve Witkoff, who met Putin last week.
But former general Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, did not appear to be on board.
Trump said he was confident something good would come of the historic meeting.
The two presidents have had many phone calls, but this is the first face-to-face meeting since 2019 when they met at a G20 summit.
Trump claimed Russia wanted “a piece” of America’s wealth and he welcomed the fact Moscow’s delegation included businessmen.
He said: “I notice he’s bringing a lot of business people from Russia, and that’s good.
“I like that, because they want to do business, but we’re not doing business until we get the war settled.”
The talks were due to include a working breakfast and “five-on-five” negotiations.
Delegates from both sides were set to be housed on University of Alaska’s Anchorage campus as most of the city’s hotels were booked out because it is peak tourism season.
Russian journalists complained they were forced to sleep on camp cots in a sports arena.
Kyiv said Russia had launched almost 100 missiles and drones overnight, of which 63 drones were shot down.
And Ukraine struck a gunpowder factory, an oil refinery and a cargo ship on the Caspian Sea bringing in drone parts.
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