ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Under a sky streaked with the fading pinks of an Alaskan summer evening, the streets of Anchorage filled with chants, banners, and a message impossible to miss: Alaska stands with Ukraine.
On Aug. 14, just 24 hours before an unprecedented summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, hundreds of pro-Ukrainian demonstrators gathered downtown. Their signs were blunt and unflinching: “Putin Won’t Stop at Ukraine.” “Ukraine and Alaska — Russian Never Again.”
The protests were as much about the war in Ukraine as they were about history — and fear. Russia once controlled Alaska before selling it to the United States in 1867. In recent years, hardline Russian nationalists have openly fantasized about taking it back.
> “We know what Putin is capable of,” one demonstrator shouted into a megaphone. “And we know what happens when the world doesn’t stand up to him.”
The Summit That Shook Alaska
The Trump–Putin meeting, set for Aug. 15 in Alaska, comes as the White House pushes for what it calls a “diplomatic breakthrough” to end the Ukraine war. Trump has floated the idea of a trilateral sit-down with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky if tomorrow’s talks “go well.”
But the stakes — and the suspicions — are sky-high.
Just hours before the protest, Russian state media confirmed the arrival of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Alexander Darchiev in Alaska. Putin himself was still in Magadan, in Russia’s Far East, meeting with regional leaders and visiting an industrial facility before boarding a flight to U.S. soil.
The optics of Putin setting foot in Alaska — a place he’s publicly linked to in territorial rhetoric — were enough to set nerves on edge from Washington to Kyiv.
Washington’s Balancing Act
The White House insists Trump is prepared to play both carrot and stick.
> “Certainly, there are sanctions and many other measures that the president could utilize if he has to,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “Not that he wants to… diplomacy and negotiation have always been the way for this president.”
Critics, however, say Trump’s leverage is weaker than advertised. Ukrainian soldiers speaking to local media were blunt: “Trump doesn’t have enough leverage to stop Russia.”
A City on Message
Anchorage, typically removed from the world’s flashpoints, became a stage for geopolitical theater. Protest organizers handed out blue-and-yellow flags, and even lampposts were draped in Ukrainian colors. Vehicles honked in solidarity as the crowd moved from Town Square Park toward the coastal trail.
A post from journalist Ostap Yarysh on X captured the scene: “Happening right now: A big pro-Ukrainian rally in Anchorage ahead of the Trump–Putin meeting.”
For some, the protest was deeply personal. “My family in Kharkiv lives under constant shelling,” said Kateryna Volkov, who moved to Alaska five years ago. “The thought of Putin here, smiling for cameras, while missiles hit my city — it’s unbearable.”
Putin’s Next Move?
While the White House talks up diplomacy, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin plans a tightly choreographed schedule — meeting Alaska’s governor, touring an industrial site, and then heading straight into talks with Trump.
Unconfirmed reports in The Telegraph have suggested that Trump may dangle access to Alaska’s rare minerals in exchange for concessions in Ukraine — a rumor both U.S. and Russian officials refuse to confirm or deny. The possibility has only fueled protesters’ determination.
> “We’re here to remind both presidents: Alaska is not a bargaining chip,” said John Markham, a local veteran holding a “Hands Off Alaska” placard.
The Shadows of History
For many in Anchorage, the protest was also about erasing any ambiguity around where Alaska stands. Russia’s brief control of the territory ended more than 150 years ago, but in recent years Putin has stoked nostalgia among Russians for the days before the U.S. purchase.
That history, coupled with his invasion of Crimea in 2014 and the full-scale war against Ukraine launched in 2022, has hardened public opinion here.
“Putin’s pattern is clear,” said protester Elena Dmytrenko. “He tests the world’s resolve. If you give him an inch, he takes a country.”
What’s at Stake
Tomorrow’s meeting could yield anything from vague promises to concrete steps — or, as skeptics fear, little more than a photo-op. But with Ukrainian forces bracing for intensified Russian assaults in Donetsk and rumors of territorial demands swirling, few here expect a breakthrough.
The last word of the night came not from a politician, but from a handwritten cardboard sign taped to the Anchorage Museum fence. It read:
“First Crimea, then Donbas, then Kyiv… and maybe Alaska? Not on our watch.”
Whether Trump will leave Alaska with a peace plan — or with Putin holding new cards — is a question that will be answered in less than 24 hours.
