Ukrainians went to bed Friday night worried that Donald Trump might be swayed by Vladimir Putin to make major concessions on the war. They awoke Saturday to find the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska ended without any strategic or political agreements, much to their relief.
Without any real developments, attention in Ukraine shifted to the summit’s optics. Putin, responsible for the war against Ukraine, was welcomed warmly in Alaska. American soldiers rolled out the red carpet, and Trump applauded him and offered a friendly handshake. The two leaders rode together in Trump’s limousine, with Putin seen laughing as they left.
For Putin, shunned internationally since invading Ukraine, the welcome marked his return to the global diplomatic stage. In Ukraine, this sight was not well received.
“Red carpets and ceremonies are normal at international events, but for an aggressor responsible for so many deaths, it should not have happened,” said Maria Drachova, a Kyiv lawyer. Drachova, viewing the footage over breakfast, felt the event was staged to please Putin, describing the world’s behavior as irrational.
Putin’s plane was escorted into the Alaskan airbase by four American fighter jets. As he walked the red carpet with Trump, an American B-2 bomber flew overhead with four more jets. Ukrainians watching saw it as legitimization of a war criminal, according to Ukrainian writer and analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko. He believed the summit should’ve been more restrained and minimalistic.
Following the welcome, Trump and Putin met reporters under a “Pursuing Peace” banner. When asked if he’d stop killing civilians, Putin smirked and gestured he couldn’t hear. The smiles and laughter struck a sour note in Ukraine, where the war has cost so many lives.
Serhii Orlyk, from the war-torn Donetsk region, felt crushed by Putin’s smirk. Having lost homes and relatives, he found the spectacle unpleasant, though he understood some protocol was necessary.
In a press statement, Trump allowed Putin to speak first, who avoided mentioning how the war began. Putin seemed satisfied with the summit, but Trump appeared deflated, lacking a deal to boast about. According to Kier Giles of Chatham House, Trump handed initiative to Putin, allowing him a head-of-state reception despite being a wanted war criminal.
Europe is unlikely to follow Trump’s lead, said Giles, reaffirming the need not to endorse Putin’s demands on Ukraine. President Zelensky stressed the importance of European leaders in negotiations to avoid Trump being swayed by Putin. Before returning to Washington, Zelensky hopes for a peace path that doesn’t involve surrendering to Russia’s demands.
The US has many tools to aid Ukraine, but pomp for Putin should not be one, said Kovalenko, doubting any strategy behind Trump’s actions. He saw it more as Trump’s whim rather than a coherent strategy.
Additional reporting by Daria Mitiuk.