Trump critics raged on social media after he literally rolled out the red carpet and clapped warmly to greet accused war criminal Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The two world leaders sat down together in Anchorage on Friday, Aug. 15, to discuss the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine

It was a welcome tailored for a close friend, not a war criminal, and it looked to the Ukrainians like their nightmare.

President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia met Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, for the first face-to-face meeting between American and Russian leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.

One key party not be in attendance Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump said after his meeting with the Russian president that he would call Zelenskyy and update him on the talks.

Vladimir Putin set foot on U.S. soil for the first time in 10 years on Friday—but don’t try telling President Donald Trump that. In the days leading up to the historic summit between the two world leaders,

Trump will meet Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday as the U.S. leader hopes for a breakthrough in the three-and-a-half-year war, following previous negotiations involving his envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russian president's rejection of a U.S. ceasefire proposal.