Overview

• The Alaska summit concluded without a formal peace agreement, and at the joint press conference Putin asserted that the Ukraine war would have been avoided under a Trump presidency in 2022.
• Social media platforms, notably X, saw users claim that a body double represented Putin at the summit based on circulating images.
• Conspiracy theorists highlighted discrepancies in cheekbone contours, posture and facial expressions in side-by-side photo and video comparisons.
• Observers cited Putin’s distinctive “gunslinger gait”—which neurologists attribute to his KGB background—as a marker they say no double could mimic.
• Mainstream reporting and official sources maintain that Putin attended in person, and no credible evidence has emerged to support the body double theory.