Inside Putin's luxury 'Flying Kremlin' with button that can spark nuclear war in seconds

The leaders of two of the world's most powerful nations have arrived in Alaska for talks. Vladimir Putin touched down in Anchorage to meet Donald Trump, with their summit set for Elmendorf-Richardson Air Force Base. They have crossed paths on several occasions, but never before in the United States.

The Russian and American leaders will meet in the northernmost region of the US where their nations almost touch. Their last encounter was at the G20 summit in Osaka in 2019, during Mr Trump's first term. It is a decade since Mr Putin last set foot on American soil, and the Russian president arrived aboard his Il-96-300PU - the so-called "Flying Kremlin" - where he travels as "Passenger Number One".

With a broader wingspan than Air Force One but 50ft shorter and notably slower, the aircraft is rumoured to rival its American counterpart for luxury.

Both leaders could, in theory, direct a nuclear strike from their airborne command posts. Trump's Boeing, however, is built for stamina, able to refuel in mid-air and remain aloft for extended periods.

Putin claims the ability to speak securely with anyone on Earth while airborne, and the five-to-six-hour flights from Washington and Moscow place both men on similar timetables.

The Kremlin strongman has in the past needled Trump by noting that Alaska once belonged to the Russian tsars,and hinting, not entirely in jest, that it could again.

The US air force base is only 630 miles from Russian territory - the bleak, inhospitable Chukotka region, where ex-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was once the governor.

Only 2.4 miles and the International Date Line divide Russia's Big Diomede Island and America's Little Diomede Island across the Bering Strait.

Once on Alaskan soil, Vladimir Putin will be chauffeured in an Aurus Senat L700, the Russian-made limousine with a Porsche engine, believed to have been airlifted into Anchorage. At 6.6 metres, it is longer than Donald Trump's Cadillac Presidential State Car - "The Beast" - and considerably faster, capable of 120mph to the American vehicle's 70mph.

Trump's armoured behemoth, however, is heavier, slower and, by many accounts, better able to withstand a direct assault.

The summit is scheduled to begin at 8.30pm London time on Friday, close to a cemetery where nine Soviet pilots lie buried from the days when Washington and Moscow were wartime allies.

Security concerns dictated the choice of Alaska over pro-Russian Hungary, where overflight rights for Putin would have been complicated by his International Criminal Court arrest warrant over the alleged abduction of Ukrainian children.

Elmendorf-Richardson Air Force Base, the meeting venue, offers a runway capable of accommodating both Air Force One and Putin's "Flying Kremlin".

"It will be guarded like no other place on the planet," a Russian source said. Normally tasked with defending the West from Moscow's armed forces, the base has also hosted diplomatic history - notably Richard Nixon's meeting with Emperor Hirohito in 1971.

Airspace over Anchorage has been heavily restricted. The first of several Russian government aircraft departed Moscow early on Thursday via the polar route, prompting speculation that Putin himself was aboard.

The Kremlin leader is travelling with his defence minister, Andrei Belousov, and foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.
Among those headed to Alaska are state media loyalists who had to apply for US visas, notoriously scarce for Russians in recent years.

RT correspondent Konstantin Pridybailo was refused entry, but others succeeded, including Alexander Yunashev, an ultra-pro-Kremlin journalist who explained he was grilled over a visit to North Korea.

He said: "Got a visa for a trip to Alaska. Everything was happening so fast that I had to take the [visa] photo myself in the kitchen on the night from Sunday to Monday.

"After the embassy interview, I had pins and needles - my visa to [North Korea] caught their interest, and they asked about the purpose of the visit, work-related, of course. Knowing the complicated relations between Washington and Pyongyang, I was already prepared for a refusal."

Unconfirmed reports suggest Kremlin propagandists have been instructed not to question any concessions Putin might make to Trump over Ukraine, a measure of the president's control over the domestic narrative. Washington has temporarily eased certain sanctions to allow the summit to proceed.

In the days leading up to the meeting, Russian state television has been awash with footage of Putin in high-level briefings, widely believed to have been pre-recorded to create the impression of tireless activity while the president kept a low profile.

In a conspicuous omission, he bypassed a visit to earthquake-stricken Kamchatka despite its proximity, less than four hours from Anchorage, amid a series of aftershocks following the 30 July quake that triggered tsunamis.