Vladimir Putin's army has lost no time in trolling Donald Trump, after he was perceived to have caved in to Russian demands at the Alaska peace meeting. Russian troops were filmed flying the US flag alongside the Russian tricolour on an American M113 armoured personnel carrier captured from Volodymyr Zelensky's forces.

At the time, Russian units were attempting to storm Mala Tokmachka in the Zaporizhzhia region. The bizarre scene came on the day Ukraine's President is preparing to meet Trump at the White House in a crucial meeting to discuss the outcome of the Alaska summit. 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."

The pro-Ukrainian blogger Igor Sushko added: "Russian fascists are now invading Ukraine while proudly displaying Russian and American flags. Maybe this ought to be a wake up call for certain people."

Zaporizhzhia is one of the four regions Putin illegally declared part of Russia in September 2022. In over three years of bitter fighting, the Kremlin's army has still failed to take full control of Zaporizhzhia, despite repeated attempts.

Russian commanders sent a tank on a dangerous mine-trawling mission in what appeared to be another suicidal operation.

The armoured vehicle was attacked by 24 Ukrainian drones but miraculously survived the UAV assault, thanks in large part to its cage armour and electronic warfare jammers.

The Russians could not contain their glee at the successful outcome of the mission, hailing the tank crew as "superheroes".

President Zelensky is set for his White House showdown on Monday, hoping to avoid another public dressing down from Trump.

The US President emerged from his Alaska summit with Putin without a deal and having failed to secure any Russian concessions.

The Kremlin leader has reportedly offered to freeze the fighting in Ukraine on condition that Kyiv withdraws its troops from the Donbas. Despite its massive advantage in both manpower and weapons, the Kremlin's army has failed to take full control of the strategic eastern region in over three years of attritional and brutal fighting.