Swaggering Russian troops have trolled Ukraine by flying an American flag on a captured US armoured vehicle ahead of Donald Trump’s meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky today.
They were filmed waving the US flag alongside the Russian tricolour in a captured American M113 armoured personnel carrier captured from Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces.
The Russians were storming Mala Tokmachka in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The bizarre scene came on the day Zelensky is set to meet with Trump to talk about Putin’s demands for peace, which involve ceding huge swathes of territory to the dictator.
The head of the Centre for the Study of the Occupation, Petr Andryushchenko, said: ‘The Russians have already declared the United States an ally and are storming Mala Tokmachka in M113 armoured personnel carriers….with Russian and American flags.
‘This is the logical conclusion to all of Trump’s absurdity. And all of this is on the official propaganda channel of Russia Today. There are no words.’
Another Ukrainian outlet said: ‘The Russians put American flags on their armoured vehicles next to the tricolour and are driving around the occupied Ukrainian land.
‘This is all you need to know about the result of the negotiations in Alaska.’
It comes after Trump’s summit with Putin, where the two men were unable to reach a deal on how to stop the war in Ukraine.
Some critics have pointed out that the meeting was a success for Putin as it welcomed him back onto the world stage, amid the growing backlash of his military activity in Ukraine.
Later today, Zelensky is set for another showdown with Trump after their infamous clash in February ended in what many Trump detractors called an ‘ambush’.
This time, the Ukrainian leader will have some of Europe’s leaders to back him up.
The UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, France’s president Emmanuel Macron, and Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz, who have all supported Zelensky, will join him in Washington, DC, for the meeting. They will be joined by other EU figures.
After Trump’s social media posts last night which he appeared to demand that Ukraine make a deal with Russia by giving up Crimea and hopes of joining NATO, observers have been left to question what the outcome of the meeting will be.
Separately, Vladimir Putin was shown forcing his troops to invade Zaporizhzhia region on potential death missions.
A Russian tank hit Ukrainian observation posts while on a dangerous mine-trawling mission, continuing despite 24 drones attacking it before it was blown up by a mine.
It survived the UAV attacks thanks to drone protection – cage armour and electronic warfare jammers.
The Russians claim that the three servicemen in the tank survived the explosion.
‘The crew, led by the commander with the call sign Surgut, survived,’ said a state media outlet.
‘The fire was directed by the gunner-operator with the call sign Kvadrat, and the vehicle was controlled by a soldier with the call sign Tsygan.’
The Russians claim the tank crew were ‘superheroes’ for their bravado, but the footage appears to highlight Putin’s manic drive for a few extra yards of Ukraine before a peace agreement to halt the fighting brokered by Trump.