Srinagar, Aug 21: Russian President Vladimir Putin was forced to pay nearly $250,000 (approximately ₹2.2 crore) in cash to refuel three aircraft during his return from the United States, according to U.S. Senator Marco Rubio.
Putin arrived in Alaska on August 15 for a high-stakes meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and received a red carpet welcome. However, due to ongoing U.S. sanctions, his delegation had to pay for jet fuel in cash “When the Russians landed in Alaska, they were there just to refuel. They had to pay in cash because they can’t use our banking system,” Rubio told NBC.
Rubio emphasized that all sanctions imposed prior to Putin’s visit remain in effect. “Every single sanction that was in place on the day he took over remains, and the impact of those sanctions continues,” he said. “They face consequences every single day. But while the sanctions haven’t changed the direction of the war, that doesn’t mean they were ineffective—just that they haven’t altered the outcome yet.”
Asked why the US doesn’t impose more sanctions to force Russia into a ceasefire, Rubio said he didn’t believe new sanctions would compel Putin to agree. He explained that Russia was already under severe sanctions, which could act as consequences for refusing a ceasefire, but there is no evidence that more measures would have an immediate effect, as “because sanctions take months and sometimes years to bite.”
Putin’s team stayed in Alaska for about five hours, departing shortly after a joint press conference. While President Trump confirmed that “no deal” had been reached, reports suggest that Russia presented an offer, and there were signs Trump was encouraging Ukraine to consider it.
The Alaska summit ended without a formal agreement to end the war in Ukraine. The nearly three-hour discussion yielded only vague statements about progress on undisclosed issues, falling short of producing any concrete steps toward a ceasefire. On Monday, Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several European leaders to discuss long-term security assurances for Kyiv.
