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Manchester airport flight delays after easyJet planes ‘clip wings' on runway (cloned)
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Daily Mail
8 minutes ago
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Putin comes to America: Russian leader heads to Pacific Coast in heavily armoured limo before jetting to Alaska for historic meeting with Trump
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been spotted travelling to the Pacific Coast in an armoured limo ahead of his highly anticipated summit with Donald Trump in Alaska, with a massive convoy sweeping through sealed-off roads. Footage shows a long line of black vehicles speeding along a road, flanked by flashing police cars and trailed by what appears to be an ambulance. The tight security comes as Putin prepares to sit down with Trump on Friday for their first face-to-face meeting since 2018. The talks, set against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine, are expected to focus on finding a path toward a ceasefire. Trump extended the invitation at the Russian leader's suggestion, but the US president has since been defensive and warned that the meeting could be over within minutes if Putin does not compromise. Every word and gesture will be closely watched by European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not included and has publicly refused pressure from Trump to surrender territory seized by Russia. Trump, usually fond of boasting of his deal-making skills, has called the summit a 'feel-out meeting' to test Putin, whom he last saw in 2019. 'I am president, and he's not going to mess around with me,' Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday. Roads were sealed off as Vladimir Putin made his way to the Pacific Coast 'If it's a bad meeting, it'll end very quickly, and if it's a good meeting, we're going to end up getting peace in the pretty near future,' said Trump, who gave the summit a one in four chance of failure. Trump has promised to consult with European leaders and Zelensky, saying that any final agreement would come in a three-way meeting with Trump and the Ukrainian president to 'divvy up' territory. Trump has voiced admiration for Putin in the past and faced some of the most intense criticism of his political career after a 2018 summit in which he appeared cowed and accepted Putin's denials of US intelligence findings that Russia interfered in the 2016 US election. Before his return to the White House, Trump boasted of his relationship with Putin, blamed predecessor Joe Biden for the war and vowed to bring peace within 24 hours. But despite repeated calls to Putin, and a stunning February 28 White House meeting in which Trump publicly berated Zelensky, the Russian leader has shown no signs of compromise. Trump has acknowledged his frustration with Putin and warned of 'very severe consequences' if he does not accept a ceasefire - but also agreed to see him in Alaska. The talks are set to begin at 11:30 am (1900 GMT) Friday at the Elmendorf Air Force Base, the largest US military installation in Alaska and a Cold War base for surveillance of the Soviet Union. Adding to the historical significance, the United States bought Alaska in 1867 from Russia - a deal Moscow has cited to show the legitimacy of land swaps. The Kremlin said it expected Putin and Trump to meet alone with interpreters before a working lunch with aides. Neither leader is expected to step off the base into Alaska's largest city of Anchorage, where protesters have put up signs of solidarity with Ukraine. Putin faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, leading him to curtail travel sharply since the war. But the United States is not party to the Hague tribunal, and Trump's Treasury Department temporarily eased sanctions on top Russian officials to allow them to travel and use bank cards in Alaska. The summit comes amid escalating military activity in eastern Ukraine, particularly in the Donetsk region, where Russian forces have launched a rapid offensive. Zelensky has firmly rejected any agreement that involves giving up more territory, citing constitutional and security concerns. President Trump has indicated that any potential peace deal may involve territorial adjustments, suggesting 'some swapping' of territories.
The Independent
37 minutes ago
- The Independent
How Russia is preparing for conflict in Nato's new Arctic battleground
At its nearest point, Alaska is just 2.4 miles from Russia. In the remote Bering Sea, Little Diomede island (US) lies next to Big Diomede island (Russia). In between them sits the International Date Line which means the American island, also known as Yesterday, is 21 hours behind its Russia neighbour, unsurprisingly dubbed Tomorrow. This quirk of geography and history appeals to Putin, not only literally putting him ahead in the sense of time, but also ahead in politics - because that's where he's winning the race for control of a vast region that is opening up, thanks to climate change. For as the Arctic increasingly melts, it is Russia and Putin that are taking advantage. 'This region is at the centre of Nato 's security. This is Nato's northern flank… Russia's military presence particularly, has been growing now for years,' warned foreign secretary David Lammy on a recent trip to the High North. 'This area is hugely, strategically important as the ice caps melt. It opens up potentially new gateways. Suddenly you can do shipping in areas where you couldn't before. 'My visit is about deterring the threat from Russia, just as it is about tackling the threat of climate change.' Russia is working hardest to dominate the Arctic because it has most to gain from the opening of these routes. The melting Arctic ice cap is an economic and military opportunity that Moscow has not missed. Recently, it expanded its fleets with its binoculars trained on Arctic dominance. The newly built Arktika -class nuclear icebreakers, such as the Arktika and Sibir, are among the most powerful in the world. They are capable of ploughing through ice up to 2.8 meters thick and operating all year-round. By the end of this year, Russia plans to operate a fleet of over 20 nuclear and diesel-electric icebreakers – and will lead the world in carving through the Arctic. In reply, the US Coastguard has three icebreakers and one on order. The UK has none. This Russian fleet enables Moscow to lead the search for the vast mineral resources, including fossil fuels, that are locked up beneath the melting ice. Icebreakers also allow it to control shipping routes and assert military dominance over the emerging region. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, the Arctic sea ice has declined by about 40 per cent since satellite observations began in 1979, with record lows in recent years. That means new shipping routes can be opened and probably kept open – by Russia. The Northern Sea Route (NSR), which runs along Russia's Siberian coast from Murmansk to the Bering Strait, is at the heart of the Kremlin's strategic push into the Arctic. This route used to be impassable for most of the year. Satellite and climate data now reveals that the navigation season along the NSR has stretched from only 60 days a year to double that now. Year-round transit is around the corner. The distance between Asian manufacturing hubs like China and Europe is being cut by approximately 40 per cent, saving millions of dollars in fuel and transit time. Trips from Shanghai to Hamburg via the NSR take around 15 days, compared to roughly 30 days via the Suez Canal. That's an economic bonus that Russia wants to own. It is likely to come into conflict with the rest of the world if Moscow insists on collecting tariffs for using an international shipping route – which it hopes to do. Already Russia uses its ports in the High North for moving sanctioned crude oil in its 'shadow fleet' which help fund Putin's war against Ukraine. Norway operates the biggest satellite observation network in the world from the Svalbard archipelago and can see Russia's illegal oil exports leaving its northern ports. 'It's this satellite ground station that helps us see the movement of Russia's shadow fleet and ultimately helps us to thwart Putin's ability to fund his war,' Lammy said. 'The High North has always been important to the security of the whole alliance. This is one of the regions where Russia can move out and towards the west.' The UK's Royal Marines play a key role in Nato's cold weather warfare and Lammy insisted that Britain is crucial in defending Nato's northern flank with what is called the Littoral Response Group. But the Royal Navy does not have any amphibious ships to move the commandos, and its real contribution is very light compared to the Nordic countries and the US. This puts further strain on the whole of Nato's operational readiness as Ukraine is the focus of so much effort. Russia's Northern Fleet has deployed advanced nuclear-powered submarines, including the Borei-class and Yassen-class vessels, capable of launching strategic missile strikes from under the ice. They give Moscow a second-strike nuclear capability, which ensures its place among the superpowers. To consolidate its position, Russia has constructed new military bases and upgraded existing ones in Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya. These are the real inroads into the Arctic - taking advantage of the rapid rate of climate change - that means the rest of the world needs to sit up and take notice. By holding his first face to face talks with Putin of his presidency in this remote land, Trump may have inadvertently shown the world another clear and present damage from Putin.
