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KYIV, Ukraine — In Kyiv, Ukrainians living under near daily Russian bombardment watched with astonishment as their country’s most important ally rolled out a red carpet in Alaska for the man they blame for over three years of war, bloodshed and loss.

Natalya Lypei, 66, did a double-take. But the images flashing on the city resident’s phone screen were real: U.S. President Donald Trump greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin warmly and clapped as the Russian leader approached him following an escorted into the country by four American fighter jets.

Trump also ignored the arrest warrant the International Criminal Court issued for Putin that kept him mostly confined at home or in nations that are strong allies.

“How can you welcome a tyrant like that?� Lypei asked, echoing the thoughts of many Kyiv residents.

The red carpet treatment, the lack of concrete decisions for Ukraine and, most significantly, neglecting the significance of sanctions — a policy that could turn the tide in Kyiv’s favor — felt like a betrayal for Ukrainians who have borne enormous suffering in the almost 3½ years since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainian service members, the country’s bravest and most skilled, were killed and wounded, thousands of civilians were killed in Russian strikes and a fifth of the country is under occupation, severing families, properties and Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

On Ukrainian social media, memes of Putin and Trump walking down a red carpet strewn with dead Ukrainian bodies were widely shared.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to travel to the United States on Monday to meet with Trump, after being excluded from Friday’s summit.

Zelenskyy anticipated Friday’s meeting would be a boon for Putin and that there would be very little in the way of results. Speaking to reporters in the days leading up to the meeting, he said it would end up being a public relations victory for the Russian leader. Above all else, Putin sought a photo on American soil — which he got in Friday’s meeting.

It was the first time in a decade that Putin stepped foot in the U.S., ending international isolation spurred by the 2022 Ukraine invasion; in other words, it was a win.

For Lypei, whose serviceman son was killed last year, it was like attending another funeral, a fresh loss. This time, her country’s hopes for a just peace.

“It hurts me a lot that my child died in a full-scale war, and today we saw a new funeral,� she said. Her 34-year old son fought with Ukraine’s 79th Brigade and was killed in the Donetsk region, an area Putin wants Ukraine to vacate as a condition for a truce.

“I do not wish anyone that sorrow, that sadness, those tears,� she said.

Natalya Cucil, 60, another Kyiv resident, said she was surprised that Trump did not produce any results from the meeting, despite his stated efforts to end the war.

“There are no results and we don’t know if there will be, although we always expect something and hope for it,� she said.

Pensioner Anatolii Kovalenko, 72, said no matter what was discussed between the two leaders, it is clear his country’s adversary won in the sphere of public relations.

“Putin won this meeting 100%,� he said.