The unlikeliest prize of the Trump-Putin summit: a motorcycle for an Alaska local

Two days before the Trump-Putin summit on August 15, Mark Warren, a retired Anchorage fire inspector, got a call from the Russian journalist telling him, “They’ve decided to give you a bike.”

By: Express Web Desk

New Delhi | August 20, 2025 08:47 PM IST

2 min read

Alaska resident Mark Warren rides the a new Ural motorcycle he received as a gift from the Russian government in Anchorage, Alaska, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, after Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to the state for a summit meeting with U.S. President Trump. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via AP)

An Alaska man may have emerged as the unlikeliest winner of last week’s high-stakes Trump-Putin summit in Anchorage — walking away with a brand-new motorcycle, courtesy of the Russian government.

Mark Warren, a retired Anchorage fire inspector, received a Ural Gear Up motorcycle with a sidecar after a Russian TV crew’s interview with him went viral. Warren, already the owner of an older Ural, had told the crew he struggled to find parts for the bike due to supply issues.

“They just interviewed some old guy on a Ural, and for some reason they think it’s cool,” Warren said, Associated Press reported. “It went viral, it went crazy, and I have no idea why, because I’m really just a super-duper normal guy.”

Two days before the Trump-Putin summit on August 15, Warren got a call from the Russian journalist telling him, “They’ve decided to give you a bike.” At first, he thought it was a scam. But the day after the leaders departed Anchorage, he was directed to an Anchorage hotel parking lot where six Russians presented him with the olive-green motorcycle, valued at $22,000.

Alaska resident Mark Warren poses with a new Ural motorcycle he received as a gift from the Russian government in Anchorage, Alaska, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the state for a summit meeting with U.S. President Trump. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via AP)

“I dropped my jaw,” Warren said. “I went, ’You’ve got to be joking me.’”

The bike, manufactured just a day before it was shipped, arrived through the Russian Embassy in the US. All the Russians asked in return was a photo and a short interview. Warren joked, “If they want something from me, they’re gonna be sorely disappointed.”

While delighted with the gift, he admitted some unease. “I don’t want a bunch of haters coming after me that I got a Russian motorcycle. I don’t want this for my family.”

(With Inputs from Associated Press)

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