Russian President Vladimir Putin’s team trolled Ukraine on the eve of the summit with President Donald Trump by serving “chicken Kyiv” to journalists on the flight to Alaska.
U.S. and Russian delegations began arriving in Anchorage Friday, as Trump posted a blunt two-word warning on Truth Social: “HIGH STAKES!!!”
On the state-chartered flight to the talks, Russian media were served “chicken Kyiv cutlets” according to the editor-in-chief of Russia Today, Margarita Simonyan.
“Perhaps this is a good sign for the upcoming negotiations,” quipped RT reporter Egor Piskunov.
Other Russian propagandists jumped on the menu choice.
“This is apparently a hint that the Russian army is making chicken Kyiv cutlets out of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Putin and Trump should make a chicken Kyiv out of Zelensky,” pro-Putin commentator Sergei Markov said. He added that “both journalists in Russia and Putin and Lavrov have a good sense of humor.”
In another instance where Russia appeared to mock Ukraine ahead of the talks, Putin’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov arrived donning a USSR sweatshirt as he touched down in Anchorage.
“With chicken Kyiv and Lavrov’s choice of attire, I think we’re seeing some early confirmation that the Russians know what kind of signals they want to send,” Doug Klain, policy analyst for the U.S. non-profit Razom, which delivers humanitarian aid to Ukraine, told The Independent.
Others on social media accused Russia of playing “mind games” with the tactics.
“Seeing all the symbolism Russians enjoy presenting ahead of Alaska summit like USSR sweatshirts and serving chicken Kyiv – it sends only one message,” said one user of a pro-Ukraine account on X. “They’ve come to Alaska to mock USA, Europe & Ukraine and to have fun at everyone’s cost.”
“Russian state level trolling is a whole different ballgame,” wrote another.
Lavrov’s sweatshirt read “CCCP’,” an abbreviation of the Russian-language cognate of USSR.
It appeared to be a tongue in cheek reference to how critics of Putin have alleged the Russian leader wants to rebuild Soviet Russia. Statues of former General Secretary of the USSR Joseph Stalin have reappeared in Russia, with a monument to the dictator being unveiled in Moscow’s subway station earlier this year.
“The Russians hyped up this meeting by spotlighting their prior ownership of Alaska and Lavrov arrived wearing a USSR shirt—the previous chapter of the Russian imperial project Putin is continuing today,” Klain said. “While the Russians loved looking back on their past holdings like Alaska, it’s a timely reminder that the world changes.”
The meeting between Trump and Putin will mark the first time the pair have met in person since 2018.
Trump vowed that the Russian president is “not going to mess around” with him as he looks to secure a ceasefire deal.
