ANCHORAGE, Alaska (BN24) — An eight-page printout containing details of President Donald Trump’s planned gift for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the lunch menu for their high-profile Ukraine peace summit was accidentally left in a hotel printer in Anchorage, prompting embarrassment but no apparent security breach.
The papers, discovered hours before the summit at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, included documents outlining non-public but largely routine information, much of which had already been released by the White House. Still, the incident went viral after NPR reported that three guests at the upscale Hotel Captain Cook came across the materials in a publicly accessible printer.
Among the documents were two pages listing the menu for a lunch that never took place, which featured filet mignon with brandy peppercorn sauce and a salad with champagne vinaigrette. Another page contained a seating chart that positioned Trump and Putin at the center of a boardroom-style table for an expanded bilateral session.
The printout also revealed that Trump planned to present Putin with an American bald eagle desk statue. It included the names, photos, and roles of U.S. and Russian participants, along with phonetic instructions for staff on how to pronounce the Russian leader’s name as “POO-tihn.” Three direct phone numbers for advance staffers responsible for preparing the event were also listed.
Officials emphasized that the materials did not contain sensitive security information and that most of the planned agenda had already been publicly posted by the White House. Nonetheless, the summit itself shifted dramatically when Trump abandoned a scheduled cease-fire announcement and instead returned to Washington claiming optimism about negotiating a broader peace agreement.
The meeting between Trump and Putin comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to visit the White House on Monday. He is expected to discuss Putin’s proposal that Ukraine cede remaining territory in Donetsk province in exchange for a multinational peacekeeping force including British and French troops to deter further Russian advances.
