Scores of pro-Ukraine protesters lined a road in central Anchorage on Thursday, the eve of talks between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at an American military base outside the Alaskan capital.
Protesters waved Ukrainian flags as well as banners in the country’s blue and yellow colors, demanding that Trump gives no concessions to Putin in exchange for the Kremlin ending its war in Ukraine.
Some protesters held signs with anti-Trump slogans, including “No Kings.”
Others blended foreign policy fears with domestic grievances. One person could be seen carrying a sign that read: “Trump is Putin’s puppet – release the Epstein files.”
Another protester held a blue and yellow sign featuring maps of Ukraine and Alaska and the words “Hands off – Russian no more.”
Protester Lisa Scarborough, a 66-year-old Anchorage resident, told Reuters she hoped Putin and Trump could accomplish something.
“(I’m) pessimistic about it, but I want to support it and hope that they can stop this. You know, what they’re doing to the Ukrainian people and the Russian people, for that matter.”
Once a Russian territory, Alaska is now home to military installations long crucial in deterring and monitoring Moscow, including Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, which will host Putin and his delegation on Friday.
Protester Helen Sharratt, a 65-year-old Anchorage resident originally from England, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s absence from the meeting was “just colonialism, you know, all over again.”
“This is about Ukraine. It’s not about America. It’s not about Russia, really, except that Russia invaded Ukraine and they need to leave. There’s nothing to negotiate. I mean, what should Zelensky do in return? He just wants to reaffirm his borders,” Sharratt told Reuters.