Alaskan man gifted new motorcycle by Putin during Trump summit
An employee of the Russian embassy in the United States handed the man, Mark Warren, the keys to his new Ural motorcycle in the parking lot of the Anchorage hotel where the Russian delegation was staying.
"I have to say that this is a personal gift from the President of the Russian Federation," Andrei Ledenev, the embassy employee, told Warren.
The white-haired, bespectacled Warren, who Reuters was unable to contact for comment, was shown hopping aboard his new bike, Ledenev behind him and another man in the sidecar, to take it for a spin.
"It's night and day," Warren said. "I like my old one, but this one is obviously much better."
"I'm speechless, it's amazing. Thank you very much."
The unexpected gift by the Russian leader came after reporters with Russian state television Channel 1 met Warren by chance on the streets of Anchorage ahead of the summit.
The reporters stopped to admire Warren's bike, which is manufactured by Ural, whose original factory was founded in 1941 in what was then Soviet Russia.
Warren told a reporter, Valentin Bogdanov, that he struggled to obtain spare parts for the bike, including a new starter, because the manufacturing plant is "located in Ukraine."
"So for you, if they resolve this conflict here in Alaska, I mean Putin and Trump, it will be good?" Bogdanov asks Warren.
"Yes, it will be good," the Alaskan replies.
Ural, which is headquartered in Washington State, says that all of its motorcycles are assembled in Kazakhstan. The company pulled all its production out of Russia after the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
Ural did not immediately reply to a request for comment outside working hours in the U.S.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
a minute ago
- CBS News
Ukraine's leader says huge Russian attack shows Putin isn't "really going to engage" in peace effort
Russia targeted Ukraine overnight with 574 drones and 40 missiles, the Ukrainian Air Force said. Most of the weapons were intercepted by Ukraine's air defenses, but the massive assault was far from unusual, and officials said at least one person was killed and 15 injured. Ukrainian officials said the Russian attack hit energy infrastructure, private homes, an American electronics factory — where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the 15 injuries were sustained, and a kindergarten. "Last night, the Russian army set one of its insane anti-records. They struck civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, and our people," Zelenskyy said in a message posted on social media. He called the electronics plant an "American investment" and an "ordinary civilian enterprise" producing "everyday items as coffee machines." "This is also a target for the Russians. Very telling. The fire is still being extinguished at the enterprise. As of now, 15 people are known to have been affected by this strike. All of them have been provided with the necessary assistance," he said. Alluding to President Trump's efforts to broker a peace deal to end the war, including the bilateral summit between Mr. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin just a week earlier, Zelenskyy condemned Moscow for launching the new strike "as if nothing had changed at all. As if there were no efforts by the world to stop this war." "A response is needed," he added. "So far, there has been no signal from Moscow that they are really going to engage in meaningful negotiations and end this war. Pressure is needed. Strong sanctions, strong tariffs." There has been a lot of talk — outside of Ukraine — about a peace deal amid Mr. Trump's ramped-up diplomacy. But inside Ukraine, people continue to live and die in a war zone more than three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Many in the country, like their president, simply don't believe that Putin really wants to end the war. They think he's just playing along with the ceasefire narrative to avoid angering Mr. Trump. And in the meantime, Putin's army continues to expand its massive seizure of territory in eastern Ukraine. The Russian defense ministry claimed Thursday that forces had captured yet another village in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Major Taras Berezovets of the Ukrainian forces told CBS News that even if Putin were to agree to a ceasefire, the Russian leader simply should not be trusted. "Absolutely not," Berezovets told CBS News. "He's a cheater, he's a criminal… and he would never accept the fact that independent Ukraine still exists." That is why Ukraine wants security guarantees — a promise of protection from the U.S. and its NATO allies in the event Russia should invade again after any eventual ceasefire is implemented. President Trump has been adamant that such a guarantee would not involve U.S. boots on the ground, and Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that Europe would have to bear most of the costs. But getting all sides, including Russia, to agree to those security guarantees may be next to impossible. After his meeting with Putin, Mr. Trump met with Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington to hold separate talks. But Moscow has downplayed the prospects of a Putin-Zelenskyy summit any time soon, and officials have said Russia should be included in any looming discussions on security guarantees for Lyall contributed to this report.
Bloomberg
a minute ago
- Bloomberg
Russian Missiles Strike US Electronics Plant in Western Ukraine
Russia attacked a civilian factory in western Ukraine owned by US company Flex Ltd, causing a massive fire and wounding at least 15 people. Local authorities said that at around 4:40 a.m. local time, two Russian cruise missiles hit the company's premises in Mukachevo.
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Analysis-Target's new CEO pick raises doubts about its much-needed brand reboot
By Siddharth Cavale, Juveria Tabassum and Sayantani Ghosh (Reuters) -Target needs a hard reset on strategy, Wall Street believes. And new CEO Michael Fiddelke may not be the person to do it. The retailer has missed the performance mark for many quarters, with sales flagging after a pandemic high, as it failed to deliver what shoppers currently want: a wide variety of good-quality groceries and daily essentials at low prices, delivered to their homes quickly. Fiddelke, a company veteran of more than two decades who recently led an effort to remove complexity and expand the use of technology at Target, laid out his priorities on Wednesday, without wowing analysts on an earnings call. "We must reestablish our merchandising authority in a way that is distinctly Target," he said. "We want guests to find a sense of joy from every trip to Target and we must do that more consistently and frequently. And third, we must more fully use technology to improve our speed, guest experience and efficiency throughout the business." He did not describe what he meant by a 'distinctly Target' brand, beyond saying the company needed to reclaim its leadership in product assortment, style and design. Several analysts said the company had lost its way. "Target seems to be experiencing something of an identity crisis," said Jamie Meyers, senior analyst at Laffer Tengler Investments, which holds shares of rivals Walmart and e-commerce company but not Target. "It's unclear what they represent as they're not an office retailer, a low-budget chain, a dollar store or a direct competitor to Walmart or Amazon," said Meyers, who believes Target needs someone from the outside as CEO to get a fresh perspective. A person who acts as an electronics consultant to Target told Reuters the company was disorganized and made slow decisions, putting off many suppliers, which is reflected in their stores. "They knew who their shopper was and how to please them but now they've kind of forgotten that," the person said. Walmart, for instance, is attracting bargain-hunting higher-income customers with its 400 million online products that are rivaled only by Amazon. Target - once known for its cheap-chic wares and out-of-the-box marketing - has failed to excite shoppers with recent tie-ups like the one with Kate Spade, a bagmaker that is weighing on its parent Tapestry's profits. "Many in the market favored an external hire, arguing that would be the only way to re-energize this retailer and jump-start its strategic reinvention," said Michael Lasser, analyst at UBS. Still, Fiddelke is likely to be viewed as a safe pair of hands, having already overseen a big efficiency drive, said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown. BIGGEST CHALLENGES Target's stock is down 23% over the last five years, during which Walmart has risen 125% and Costco has more than tripled. Walmart, scheduled to report earnings on Thursday, has long sacrificed margins for high sales volumes, especially on grocery. It has pumped money into expanding its home-delivery reach and, taking a cue from Amazon, included a subscription to Paramount+ streaming with its annual membership. Target charges the same as Walmart, but without the movies. Expanding its e-commerce business and building a delivery infrastructure have been among Target's biggest challenges. Plus, the company's high-margin discretionary merchandise has for a few years now failed to resonate with buyers as their budgets shrink due to inflation and, more recently, tariffs, analysts said. The company pulled back its support for diversity, putting off some customers and, in the face of persistent theft, it simply locked up many goods. Fiddelke acknowledged many of these problems on Wednesday, saying Target was "urgently adjusting" to tariffs and changing consumer needs, embracing technology to automate manual work, and working to mend problems like slow decision-making, siloed internal goals, and a lack of access to quality data that would drive better inventory planning. Doubts remain, though. "The whole point of a board is to challenge thinking to ensure good decisions are made. Target's board and senior team do not seem to do this," said Neil Saunders, managing director at data analytics firm GlobalData. "They almost exist in their own bubble."
