Russia has sent a bold message to Donald Trump, comparable to a ‘middle finger the size of the Statue of Liberty,’ as Vladimir Putin’s close associate engaged in peace talks clad in a T-shirt exalting the Soviet Union.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Alaska with the letters CCCP clearly scrawled across his front – the Russian acronym for the USSR.

Ahead of critical discussions between Putin and Donald Trump about ending the war in Ukraine, he was spotted exiting his vehicle while wearing the Russian designer shirt, and conducted media interviews without hesitation.

The provocative action elicited outrage from Ukrainian diplomats, soldiers, and citizens, coming soon after Mr. Trump boasted that Putin ‘is not going to mess around with me’.

Oleg T, 33, a special forces soldier who is fighting in eastern Ukraine, told the Mail: ‘That’s not a message – it is trolling the Americans.

‘It is a middle finger the size of the Statue of Liberty. If Trump doesn’t see that, then he has chosen to be blind.

‘The world, hopefully, is not blind and can see the game Russians are playing.’

Ukrainian scientist Vasyl Melnichenko, 76, who was called in to liquidate the Chernobyl nuclear plant while living under Soviet rule, also slammed the move.

Lavrov, 75, was one of several politicians from the Russian delegation to arrive at the highly anticipated meeting between the US and Russian leaders

When asked what his predications for the highly anticipated meeting, Lavrov refused to speculate

Donald Trump is travelling from the White House to Alaska in Air Force One

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump shake hands during a bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan in 2019

He said: ‘Lavrov’s action is no accident; it’s their message to everyone, including Trump.

‘They’re openly showing what they want—they don’t want peace, they don’t want to negotiate, they want to conquer and kill.

‘The USSR is their cherished dream, their desire to regain power, to force everyone to kneel before Moscow, to make everyone their slaves again.

‘They don’t want to let anyone go—they have that imperial blood.

‘I lived in Soviet Moscow, I worked there a lot, I know these people, their nature, the atmosphere that prevails there.

‘Putin and his circle say one thing and do another—they come to a meeting supposedly about peace wearing a USSR T-shirt—is that a sign of respect for Trump?

‘The worst part is that we are losing time, and during that time, our people are dying.

‘I really hope I’m wrong. I want to wake up tomorrow and hear: they agreed on a mutual ceasefire. I’d be the happiest person in the world.’

Ukrainian politician Oleksiy Goncharenko said the jumper was a clear message to the American people and the wider world.

‘It says that Russia would like things to be as they were in the past, between the USSR and the US – no international order, and Big Boys deciding everything as they saw fit,’ he told the Mail.

‘It’s a message both for the domestic and the international audience around the world.’

Diplomats said the highly provocative stunt both showed Lavrov’s contempt for Washington and also acted as a warning to Russia’s near abroad.

Gabrielius Landsbergis, the former Lithuanian Foreign Minister, shared the video and wrote sarcastically that Lavrov was saying ‘Just give us half of Ukraine and we promise we will stop’ whilst ‘wearing a USSR sweatshirt’.

Oleksandr Khara, Executive Director of the Centre for Defence Strategies in Kyiv, agreed it was clearly designed to communicate to world leaders that Russia sees the summit as one step closer to regaining its Soviet empire.

‘I wonder how MAGA supporters, who despise left-wing ideology, will react,’ he said.

‘Russia is highly skilled in messaging, seeking to project the image of the superpower it once was during the Cold War.

‘The Russians would love to replicate the success of Yalta in 1945, when the great powers decided the fate of Europe and the wider world.

‘They will attempt to downplay the issue of the war, instead emphasising the importance of strategic stability and bilateral relations — including diplomatic normalisation, the restoration of economic ties, and the launch of joint projects.’

Until Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the country endured hardship under Russian rule for 69 years, from the pogroms and political repression of the Lenin era to the Holodomor genocide of the 1930s and the covered-up Chernobyl disaster of 1986 which predated the collapse of the USSR.

Lavrov’s gesture comes just hours after Trump insisted Putin ‘is not going to mess around with me’ on the eve of their crunch summit.

‘If I weren’t president, in my opinion, he would much rather take over all of Ukraine but I am president and he’s not going to mess around with me,’ the U.S. President said.

Putin is travelling to the Pacific Coast in an armoured limo ahead of the highly anticipated summit about ending the war in Ukraine, with a massive convoy sweeping through sealed-off roads.

Footage shows a long line of black vehicles speeding along a road in Magadan, 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 2019. 

The talks will begin at 11am Alaska time (19:00 BST) and is set against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine, with a 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.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been spotted travelling to the Pacific Coast ahead of his highly anticipated summit with Donald Trump in Alaska

Footage shows a long line of black armoured vehicles speeding along a road, flanked by flashing police cars

Roads were sealed off as Vladimir Putin made his way to the Pacific Coast 

‘I am president, and he’s not going to mess around with me,’ Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday. 

‘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.

Kyiv has ruled out conceding territory to its invader and seeks security assurances, indicating numerous instances of Russia breaking ceasefires in the past.

Russia has upped the ante in recent days, taking swathes of land in eastern Ukraine in a new offensive. 

War-weary Ukrainian refugees will also begin losing their legal protections to stay in the United States from Friday without action from the Trump administration, opening them up to possible arrest and deportation.

Of concern to Kyiv, 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. 

The summit will mark the first time the two have met face-to-face since 2018

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.

However, Ukrainian officials have expressed concerns that such proposals could undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty. 

The meeting comes as Putin is preparing to test Russia;s nuclear-powered, nuclear armed cruise missles. Experts say recent satellite images show intense preparations at the Pankovo test site on Novaya Zemlya, a remote archipelago in the Barents Sea

The summit is seen as a critical moment in the ongoing conflict, with the potential to either pave the way for a ceasefire or deepen divisions. 

Trump has hinted that a peace deal could involve ‘some swapping of territories to the betterment of both’, though details remain vague and controversial.

Last Friday, he said: ‘We are looking to actually get some back and some swapping. It is complicated, actually nothing easy. We are going to get some back, some switched.’

Meanwhile, Russia is believed to present sweeping demands – Ukraine’s withdrawal from regions like Donbas and Crimea, neutrality, and a rejection of NATO, conditions that Ukraine and its allies have long rejected.

However, many analysts warn that without coordinated Western pressure and Ukraine’s central role, the outcome remains uncertain. They also fear the talks could produce a victory for Putin without any guarantees of lasting peace.

It comes as Putin is gearing up to test its nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile after the US president warned him of ‘severe consequences’ if the war continues.

Experts say recent satellite images show intense preparations at the Pankovo test site on Novaya Zemlya, a remote archipelago in the Barents Sea.

The pictures, taken in recent weeks by commercial satellite firm Planet Labs, reveal a surge in personnel, equipment, ships and aircraft linked to earlier tests of the 9M730 Burevestnik, known to NATO as the SSC-X-9 Skyfall.

Demonstrators hold placards during a protest in solidarity with Ukraine, ahead of the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 14, 2025

At least 16 protests are scheduled to take place across Alaska in solidarity with Ukraine, with demonstrations planned in Fairbanks, Kodiak and Ketchikan

At least 16 protests are scheduled to take place across Alaska in solidarity with Ukraine, with demonstrations planned in Fairbanks, Kodiak and Ketchikan.

‘First and foremost, our goal is to communicate solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Ukraine, to let them know that we all watched in horror as Ukraine was invaded over three years ago now,’ Nicole Collins, an organiser of a pro-Ukraine vigil on Thursday night, told News from the States.

Several hundred demonstrators gathered in Anchorage on Friday morning ahead of Putin’s arrival for the high-profile summit, which marks the first time a meeting between the US and Russia will be held on American soil since 1988.

 Alaska, the location for the negotiations, was once a Russian territory before it was sold in 1867 for $7.2million.

The proximity of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, located in Anchorage, to Russia made it a critical point for monitoring and intercepting Soviet aircraft and missiles during the Cold War era.

The location and its logistical neutrality make it a practical escape from International Criminal Court complications, as there is an ICC arrest warrant against Putin.

When asked what his predications for the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov refused to speculate, saying: ‘We never try to anticipate the outcome or make any guesses. What we do know, however, is that we have arguments we can contribute to the discussion and that our position is clear. We will present it.’ 

Other members of the delegation on the Russian side include Foreign Policy Adviser Yuri Ushakov, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, and Russian Direct Investment Fund chief Kirill Dmitriev – a key figure in negotiations with the White House. 

People walk over a message is written with chalk on the ground during a protest in solidarity with Ukraine

Demonstrators hold a banner during a protest in solidarity with Ukraine, ahead of the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 14, 2025

Experts have noted that Putin has repeatedly exploited a form of USSR nostalgia that Lavrov’s choice of jumper appears to reflect.

The Russian leader previously branded the fall of the Soviet Union ‘the greatest political catastrophe’ of the 20th century during a 2005 address.

Putin himself worked as KGB foreign intelligence agent – serving as mid-level officer in Dresden in the second half of the 1980s, then part of communist-ruled East Germany.

Exiled Russian opposition figure Yulia Navalnaya on Friday urged presidents Putin and Trump to strike a deal to free Russian and Ukrainian political prisoners held captive by Moscow for speaking out against the war in Ukraine.

‘Release Russian political activists and journalists, Ukrainian civilians, those who were imprisoned for anti-war statements and posts on social media,’ Navalnaya, whose husband Alexei Navalny died in a Russian prison last year, said in a video message on social media, hours before the two leaders were set to meet in Alaska.