USSR sweatshirt, Kyiv cutlet, and protests: Scenes from Alaska, the host for a rare Trump–Putin summit

Indian Express

3 days ago

The first US-Russia summit in four years is set to be held on Friday against the backdrop of Cold War nostalgia and local protests, as US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are arriving to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Trump, speaking ahead of the meeting at a Cold War-era air force base, cast the talks as 'the start of the end of the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two.' Putin, whose forces remain ascendant in Ukraine, hinted at a possible deal to limit strategic nuclear weapons, something the Kremlin hopes could open a broader dialogue with Washington beyond Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Both leaders will meet at the US military's Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.
Reuters reported that in Anchorage, thousands of miles from the front lines, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov drew attention by arriving in a sweatshirt emblazoned with 'USSR.'
Lavrov's antics, however, were the latest in a string of Russian provocations leading up to the summit, as per The Guardian, aimed at unsettling Ukraine and its European allies.
The Guardian quoted the editor-in-chief of RT, Margarita Simonyan, as saying that the Russian press corps flying to Alaska had been served chicken kyiv cutlets.
Lavrov showed up in Alaska wearing a USSR sweatshirt. Very reassuring to at least 14 of Russia's neighbors. pic.twitter.com/zwalshPWaC
— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) August 15, 2025
However, the Kremlin press pool was accommodated at the Alaska Airlines Center, where a large semi-open space had been divided into sections with partitions. Some journalists even improvised their own camp-style beds, while meals were provided free of charge at a nearby university campus, according to Russian reporters, Reuters said.
With most hotels booked out by the influx of international journalists, the visiting reporters were housed in the local ice hockey arena — a venue once repurposed as a Covid-19 hospital — now fitted with Red Cross–donated army cots, according to The Guardian.
Additionally, at least one live TV feed caught the unusual sight of a bear and a moose wandering past.
Outside, the mood was far less cordial. Hundreds of Alaskans lined streets waving Ukrainian flags and holding signs calling Putin a 'war criminal.' Hanna Correa, a Ukrainian who moved to Anchorage in 2019, told the BBC: 'Putin is supposed to be in jail, and he just comes to Alaska like that. When I see so many Americans supporting Ukraine, it made me cry.'
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not invited to the talks, a decision Correa called 'pretty sad.' Protester Christopher Kelliher, a 53-year-old veteran and Alaskan native, told the BBC: 'It's gross… Putin doesn't need to be in our state, much less our country. We have an idiot in the White House that will kowtow to this guy.'
Some locals voiced cautious hope. 'I understand the historical moment… I hope there will be some fruitful results,' Anchorage resident Galina Tomisser told Reuters. Fisherman Don Cressley said he backed the talks if they could end the destruction in Ukraine: 'Trump's doing an awesome job in ceasefire negotiations.'
The state — whose far western edge sits just 90 kilometres from Russia's Far East — is home to Indigenous communities and was first settled by Europeans, including Russian explorers, in the 18th century. The US purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million, and no Russian leader has visited since.
Anchorage resident Russell Wilson told the BBC: 'If the president doesn't put the hammer down, we could be the next Ukraine.' Others were unfazed with Kelliher joking that 'everybody in Alaska owns a gun.'
While Trump insists his goal is to bring Putin to the negotiating table, Ukraine and its European allies remain wary. In Kyiv, resident Konstantyn Shtanko told Reuters: 'There won't be a positive outcome… At best, it will be a frozen conflict.'