Putin's warm welcome in Alaska gets cold reaction in Ukraine

In the absence of a deal, Ukrainians focused on the optics of Putin's visit to Trump in Alaska.

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They woke up on Saturday morning to find that the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska instead had fizzled out without any strategic or political agreements. It was a rare example of a failed summit coming as a relief.

In the absence of any real developments, attention in Ukraine turned to the presentational aspects of the summit – the "optics", in political speak.

Putin, the man responsible for the devastating war of aggression against Ukraine, had received the warmest welcome possible in Alaska. American soldiers knelt to literally roll out the red carpet for him. Trump applauded him as he approached and offered a friendly handshake. The two leaders rode together alone in Trump's presidential limousine and Putin could be seen laughing as the car pulled away.

For the Russian president, who has been shunned internationally since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the greeting marked the beginning of a remarkable return to the global diplomatic stage and set a tone that would continue throughout the day.