Most people watching Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s ‘summit of the century’ in Alaska overnight were left feeling pretty underwhelmed.
The US president famous for his love of a deal failed to reach one, while the subsequent blockbuster joint press conference between the world’s two most powerful leaders fizzled out in 12 minutes.
Ukrainians will have been looking on aghast at Putin being given the red carpet treatment after the horrors his war have inflicted on their country.
But some managed to find some humour in the otherwise gloomy meeting after a clip of Putin bidding farewell to Trump once again raised eyebrows about his health.
The footage shows the Russian leader’s legs twitching oddly at the knees and rocking back and forward on his heel and toes.
On Telegram, the Times of Ukraine channel asked: ‘Attention — Putin’s legs. What is wrong with them?’
The Nevzorov channel said: ‘Putin seems to have achieved his goal, but he is twitching suspiciously. His legs are “shaking”. Maybe his shoes are tight.’
Crimean Wind suggested Putin was wearing ‘a strange element resembling a light exoskeleton’ under his suit trousers.
Others pointed out the thick soles on his shoes, saying he was trying to overcome his ‘Napoleon complex’ and bridge the eight-inch height difference between them.
‘Apparently, suffering from a Napoleon complex, Putin decided not to limit himself to traditional shoes with hidden platforms adding up to five inches in height for the “meeting of the century”,’ Crimean Wind continued.
After the summit, Trump said Ukraine should agree a deal to end the war with Russia because ‘Russia is a very big power, and they’re not’.
In a major shift, Trump also said he had agreed with Putin that the best way to end the war was to go straight to a peace settlement – not via a ceasefire, as Ukraine and its European allies, until now with US support, have been demanding.
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The war – the deadliest in Europe for 80 years – has killed or wounded well over a million people from both sides, including thousands of mostly Ukrainian civilians, according to analysts.
Later, Putin was seen bending his knee to lay flowers at the graves of Soviet pilots and other military personnel at the Fort Richardson Memorial Cemetery.
During the Lend-Lease programme during the Second World War, Soviet pilots trained in Alaska and ferried US-built aircraft across the Bering Strait.
Some died during training or flights.
After laying flowers, Putin returned to his ‘Flying Kremlin’ Il-96-300PU presidential plane, where he is known as ‘Passenger Number One’.
Footage from Putin’s plane showed he was given a stealth F-22 US air force fighter escort from Anchorage to the American-Russian border.
Soon afterwards – after crossing the International Date Line – Putin landed in the far-flung Russian region Chukotka, where ex-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was once the governor, for meetings with local officials.
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