As the leaders of the United States and Russia met on Anchorage’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Friday, supporters of Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion staged multiple demonstrations in Alaska to protest the meeting and what they predicted would be capitulation to Russian goals.

Trump has visited Alaska several times as president, pushed for expanded oil, gas and mining permits there, and even got funding for new polar icebreakers, a popular stance in a state he won with 54% of the vote in 2024.

It only makes sense that we’ve met here, because our countries though separated by the ocean are close neighbors,” Putin said in Anchorage.