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An Alaska man was gifted a new Ural motorbike by Russian President Vladimir Putin after a viral interview with a Russian journalist. Mark Warren, the man in the interview, had complained that his own Soviet-era bike had become impossible to repair because of US sanctions.
A week before the summit in Anchorage, Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Warren was running errands when a Russian state television crew stopped him for an interview. During the interview, Warren explained his difficulty in obtaining parts for his Soviet-era Ural motorcycle due to supply issues resulting from the US sanctions on Russia.
Just two days before the summit, Warren was handed the keys to a new olive-green Ural motorbike, valued at $22,000 (£17,500), in the car park of an Anchorage hotel. The bike was a personal gift from Vladimir Putin. During the handover, Warren expressed his gratitude to a journalist, saying, 'I'm speechless, it's amazing. Thank you very much.'
The Ural motorbikes were initially developed for the Soviet military during the Second World War but were later adapted for civilian use. The bike's signature side pods allowed the Russian embassy employee who delivered the gift to take a ride with Warren around the car park.
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