Protesters in Alaska Warn Against Concessions Ahead of Trump-Putin Summit
On the eve of U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, protests in Alaska underscored deep concerns over potential concessions in the push for a peace deal on the war in Ukraine.
The Gaze reports this, referring to Anchorage Daily News.
In Anchorage, hundreds of demonstrators rallied on August 15, waving Ukrainian flags, holding homemade signs, and even marching to the beat of a local band.
The protest, organized by a coalition of progressive groups, targeted both Trump’s broader policies and the summit itself.
Messages ranged from parody, one sign read, “I can see fascists from my house,” echoing former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s famous 2008 remark about Russia’s proximity, to stark warnings, such as “Putin won’t stop at Ukraine,” a nod to fears that Moscow still harbors ambitions over Alaska, which it sold to the U.S. in 1867.
The dissent reached across the Pacific. In Kyiv, relatives of Ukrainian prisoners of war gathered outside the U.S. Embassy, urging Washington to make human rights, not territorial bargaining, the foundation of any talks.
Holding flags emblazoned with the names and faces of captured soldiers, they carried signs in Ukrainian and English reading, “Don’t bargain with Ukrainian land,” “Don’t trust Putin,” and “Return Ukrainian POWs.”
Natalia Yepifanova, one of the organizers, called on Trump to shift the focus from land negotiations to prisoner releases, advocating an “all-for-all” exchange.
“Any peace talks must start with human rights, returning POWs home, opening access to the colonies where they are held, and allowing the Red Cross in,” she said.
The demonstrations come amid reports that Trump is preparing to offer Putin a package of economic incentives to end the war, including potential access to Alaska’s natural resources, partial lifting of sanctions on Russia’s aviation sector, and access to rare earth minerals in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.
Trump has said the Alaska talks are only intended as a preliminary “feel-out” session, with the possibility of a follow-up meeting involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Read more on The Gaze: Trump-Putin Gambit: Scenarios and Stakes for Ukraine