Vladimir Putin delivered a brutal comment to a US reporter after his press conference with Donald Trump descended into chaos.
The 72-year-old Russian president had flown from Moscow to Alaska for his first face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump since 2018.
The summit, which was held in Anchorage on August 15, aimed to lay the groundwork for a potential peace framework in Ukraine. But before any discussions began, the joint press conference spiraled into chaos.
"Mr. Putin, will you agree to a ceasefire?" one female reporter asked. "Will you commit to not killing any more civilians? President Putin, why should President Trump trust your word now?"
Footage broadcast by many news outlets captured the Russian leader cupping his hands around his mouth to project his voice toward the press. According to lip reader Nicola Hickling, speaking to The Sun, he muttered: “You are ignorant.”
Trump, who was seated beside him, was reportedly seen signaling discomfort to an aide during the exchange.
However, Sky News correspondent Martha Kelner later suggested Putin may have actually been saying "let's go, let's go," encouraging the press to exit.
Despite the rocky start, both leaders later described the private three-hour meeting as productive, though details were scarce.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is set to visit the White House on August 18, expressed cautious optimism, writing on X: “It is time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America. We are ready, as always, to work as productively as possible.”
Yet the summit’s fallout extended beyond the press room as on the following morning, NPR reported that eight pages of sensitive planning documents were discovered abandoned in the business center of Anchorage’s Hotel Captain Cook - just 20 minutes from the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, where the summit took place.
The documents, reportedly printed by US government staff, included phone numbers of federal employees, a summit schedule, and even a seating chart for a formal luncheon that never happened.
Also listed were names and phonetic guides for Russian officials, details of specific meeting rooms, Trump’s planned gift to Putin: a bald eagle desk statue, and the lunch intended to honor Putin, which was to feature green salad, filet mignon, halibut Olympia, and crème brûlée.
The 79-year-old was slated to sit alongside key figures from his administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Putin’s side included Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and adviser Yuri Ushakov.
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Jon Michaels, a UCLA national security lecturer, called the incident “a major slip-up,” telling NPR: “You just don’t leave things in printers. It’s that simple," adding: "It strikes me as further evidence of the sloppiness and the incompetence of the administration."
The White House dismissed the uproar as Tommy Pigott, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson, told The Independent: “Instead of covering the historic steps towards peace achieved at Friday’s summit, NPR is trying to make a story out of a lunch menu. Ridiculous.”
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly also downplayed the leak, labeling it a “multi-page lunch menu” and denying any security breach.
Still, the lapse has raised questions about the handling of sensitive diplomatic materials.