Russian President Vladimir Putin landed on American soil Friday and set foot on a red carpet laid out by the Trump administration, greeted by a U.S. president eager to discuss the prospects for peace in Ukraine despite the Russian army bombing civilian targets throughout the day. A U.S. stealth bomber flew overhead at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage as Putin deplaned, and Trump offered him applause before the two men walked between U.S. fighter jets to the "Beast," the official U.S. presidential vehicle. The two leaders rode together to the meeting site. The pomp and circumstance for the Russian leader effectively ends his status as a pariah in Washington ever since he launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, leading to Europe's bloodiest conflict since the Second World War.