President Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin held a rare meeting Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.

Trump has visited Alaska several times as president, pushed for expanded oil, gas and mining permits there, and even got funding for new polar icebreakers, a popular stance in a state he won with 54% of the vote in 2024.

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