It was a welcome tailored for a close friend, not a war criminal, and it looked to the Ukrainians like their nightmare.

President Trump is on his way to Alaska for his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Air Force One took off for Anchorage shortly after 8 a.m ET. The president is expected to arrive at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson in Anchorage after a roughly seven-hour flight.

President Richard M. Nixon and Emperor Hirohito of Japan meet Sept. 26, 1971, in Anchorage, in the home of Gen. Robert George Ruegg, commander in chief of the Alaskan Command at Elmendorf Air Force Base. It was the first-ever meeting of a U.S. president and a Japanese monarch. (Anchorage Times photo)