Zelenskyy calls for 'lasting peace', not 'pause in the killings', after officials meet in UK
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the meeting was constructive and that Kyiv's arguments were heard.
"What is needed is not a pause in the killings, but a real, lasting peace," he said.
"Not a ceasefire sometime in the future — months from now — but immediately. President Trump told me so, and I fully support it."
The Ukrainian leader had earlier put out a statement re-affirming that Ukraine would not cede land to Russia as part of a ceasefire deal, despite Washington signalling that it might be necessary to end the war.
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Alaska next week to discuss the war and a prospective peace deal.
Russia has repeatedly demanded Ukraine cede its territory, agree to demilitarise, and be excluded from NATO membership.
European officials were reported to have presented their own Ukraine peace proposals to the US ahead of the meeting between the US and Russian presidents.
Mr Trump announced on Friday that he would meet Mr Putin in Alaska on August 15, saying the parties, including Mr Zelenskyy, were close to a deal.
Details of the potential deal have yet to be announced, but Mr Trump said it would involve "some swapping of territories to the betterment of both".
It could require Ukraine to surrender significant parts of its territory — an outcome Kyiv and its European allies say would only encourage Russian aggression.
The Wall Street Journal said European officials had presented a counter-proposal, including demands that a ceasefire must take place before any other steps are taken and that any territory exchange must be reciprocal.
"You can't start a process by ceding territory in the middle of fighting," it quoted one European negotiator as saying.
Mr Zelenskyy said the meeting was constructive.
"All our arguments were heard," he said in his evening address to Ukrainians.
"The path to peace for Ukraine should be determined together and only together with Ukraine, this is a key principle."
He had earlier rejected any territorial concessions, saying "Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier".
French President Emmanuel Macron also said Ukraine must play a role in any negotiations.
"Ukraine's future cannot be decided without the Ukrainians, who have been fighting for their freedom and security for over three years now," he wrote on X.
"Europeans will also necessarily be part of the solution, as their own security is at stake."
Mr Zelenskyy has made a flurry of calls with Ukraine's allies since a visit to Moscow on Wednesday by Mr Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff.
"Clear steps are needed, as well as maximum coordination between us and our partners," Mr Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine and the European Union have pushed back on proposals they view as ceding too much to Mr Putin, whose troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Kyiv and its Western allies say the invasion is an imperial-style land grab.
Moscow has previously claimed four Ukrainian regions — Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — as well as the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014.
Russian forces do not fully control all the territory in the four regions and Russia has demanded that Ukraine pull out its troops from the parts of all four of them that they still control.
Ukraine says its troops still have a small foothold in Russia's Kursk region a year after they crossed the border to try to gain leverage in any negotiations.
Russia said it had expelled Ukrainian troops from Kursk in April.
Fierce fighting is raging along the more than 1,000-kilometre front line along eastern and southern Ukraine, where Russian forces hold about a fifth of the country's territory.
Russian troops are slowly advancing in Ukraine's east, but their summer offensive has so far failed to achieve a major breakthrough, Ukrainian military analysts say.
Reuters/AP
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5 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Trump-Putin relationship takes spotlight at summit
Donald Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska could be a decisive moment for both the war in Ukraine and the US leader's anomalous relationship with his Russian counterpart. Trump has long boasted that he has gotten along well with Putin and spoken admiringly of him, even praising him as "pretty smart" for invading Ukraine. But in recent months, he's expressed frustrations with Putin and threatened more sanctions on his country. At the same time, Trump has offered conflicting messages about his expectations for Friday's summit. He has called it "really a feel-out meeting" to gauge Putin's openness to a ceasefire but also warned of "very severe consequences" if Putin does not agree to end the war. For Putin, the meeting is a chance to repair his relationship with Trump and unlace the West's isolation of his country following its invasion of Ukraine. He has been open about his desire to rebuild US-Russia relations now that Trump is back in the White House. The White House has dismissed any suggestion that Trump's agreeing to sit down with Putin is a win for the Russian leader. But critics suggest the meeting gives Putin an opportunity to get in Trump's ear to the detriment of Ukraine, whose leader was excluded from the summit. Here's a look back at the ups and downs of Trump and Putin's relationship: * Russia questions during the 2016 campaign Months before he was first elected president, Trump cast doubt on findings from US intelligence agencies that Russian government hackers had stolen emails from Democrats, including his opponent Hillary Clinton, and released them in an effort to hurt her campaign and boost Trump's. In one 2016 appearance, he shockingly called on Russian hackers to find emails that Clinton had reportedly deleted. "Russia, if you're listening," Trump said, "I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing." Questions about his connections to Russia dogged much of his first term, touching off investigations by the Justice Department and Congress and leading to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, who secured multiple convictions against Trump aides and allies but did not establish proof of a criminal conspiracy between Moscow and the Trump campaign. These days, Trump describes the Russia investigation as an affinity he and Putin shared. "Putin went through a hell of a lot with me," Trump said earlier in 2025 of what he called a "phoney witch hunt". Putin in 2019 mocked the investigation's findings, saying, "A mountain gave birth to a mouse." * 'He just said it's not Russia' Trump met Putin six times during his first term, including a 2018 summit in Helsinki, when Trump stunned the world by appearing to side with an American adversary about whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election. "I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today," Trump said. "He just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be." Facing intense blowback, Trump tried to walk back the comment a day later. But clouded that reversal by saying other countries could have also interfered. Putin referred to Helsinki summit as "the beginning of the path" back from Western efforts to isolate Russia. He also made clear that he had wanted Trump to win in 2016. * Trump calls Putin 'pretty smart' after invasion of Ukraine The two leaders kept up their friendly relationship after Trump left the White House under protest in 2021. After Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, Trump described the Russian leader in positive terms. "I mean, he's taking over a country for two dollars' worth of sanctions. I'd say that's pretty smart," Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago resort. He later suggested Putin was going into Ukraine to "be a peacekeeper". Trump repeatedly said the invasion of Ukraine would never have happened if he had been president - a claim Putin endorsed while lending his support to Trump's false claims of election fraud. Through much of his campaign, Trump criticised US support for Ukraine and derided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a "salesman" for persuading Washington to provide weapons and funding to his country. * Revisiting the relationship Once he became president, Trump stopped claiming he would solve the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. In March, he said he was "being a little bit sarcastic" when he said that. In Trump's second term, Putin has pushed for a summit while trying to pivot from the Ukrainian conflict by emphasising the prospect of launching joint US-Russian economic projects, among other issues. "We'd better meet and have a calm conversation on all issues of interest to both the United States and Russia based on today's realities," Putin said in January. In February, things looked favourable for Putin when Trump had a blow-up with Zelenskiy at the White House, berating him as "disrespectful". But in April, as Russian strikes escalated, Trump posted a public plea on social media: "Vladimir, STOP!" He began voicing more frustration with the Russian leader, saying he was "Just tapping me along". Earlier in August, Trump ordered the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines "based on the highly provocative statements" of the country's former president, Dmitry Medvedev. Trump's vocal protests about Putin have tempered since he announced their meeting, but so have his predictions for what he might accomplish. On Monday, Trump described their summit not as the occasion in which he would finally get the conflict "settled" but instead as "really a feel-out meeting, a little bit". "I think it'll be good," Trump said. "But it might be bad." Donald Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska could be a decisive moment for both the war in Ukraine and the US leader's anomalous relationship with his Russian counterpart. Trump has long boasted that he has gotten along well with Putin and spoken admiringly of him, even praising him as "pretty smart" for invading Ukraine. But in recent months, he's expressed frustrations with Putin and threatened more sanctions on his country. At the same time, Trump has offered conflicting messages about his expectations for Friday's summit. He has called it "really a feel-out meeting" to gauge Putin's openness to a ceasefire but also warned of "very severe consequences" if Putin does not agree to end the war. For Putin, the meeting is a chance to repair his relationship with Trump and unlace the West's isolation of his country following its invasion of Ukraine. He has been open about his desire to rebuild US-Russia relations now that Trump is back in the White House. The White House has dismissed any suggestion that Trump's agreeing to sit down with Putin is a win for the Russian leader. But critics suggest the meeting gives Putin an opportunity to get in Trump's ear to the detriment of Ukraine, whose leader was excluded from the summit. Here's a look back at the ups and downs of Trump and Putin's relationship: * Russia questions during the 2016 campaign Months before he was first elected president, Trump cast doubt on findings from US intelligence agencies that Russian government hackers had stolen emails from Democrats, including his opponent Hillary Clinton, and released them in an effort to hurt her campaign and boost Trump's. In one 2016 appearance, he shockingly called on Russian hackers to find emails that Clinton had reportedly deleted. "Russia, if you're listening," Trump said, "I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing." Questions about his connections to Russia dogged much of his first term, touching off investigations by the Justice Department and Congress and leading to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, who secured multiple convictions against Trump aides and allies but did not establish proof of a criminal conspiracy between Moscow and the Trump campaign. These days, Trump describes the Russia investigation as an affinity he and Putin shared. "Putin went through a hell of a lot with me," Trump said earlier in 2025 of what he called a "phoney witch hunt". Putin in 2019 mocked the investigation's findings, saying, "A mountain gave birth to a mouse." * 'He just said it's not Russia' Trump met Putin six times during his first term, including a 2018 summit in Helsinki, when Trump stunned the world by appearing to side with an American adversary about whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election. "I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today," Trump said. "He just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be." Facing intense blowback, Trump tried to walk back the comment a day later. But clouded that reversal by saying other countries could have also interfered. Putin referred to Helsinki summit as "the beginning of the path" back from Western efforts to isolate Russia. He also made clear that he had wanted Trump to win in 2016. * Trump calls Putin 'pretty smart' after invasion of Ukraine The two leaders kept up their friendly relationship after Trump left the White House under protest in 2021. After Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, Trump described the Russian leader in positive terms. "I mean, he's taking over a country for two dollars' worth of sanctions. I'd say that's pretty smart," Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago resort. He later suggested Putin was going into Ukraine to "be a peacekeeper". Trump repeatedly said the invasion of Ukraine would never have happened if he had been president - a claim Putin endorsed while lending his support to Trump's false claims of election fraud. Through much of his campaign, Trump criticised US support for Ukraine and derided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a "salesman" for persuading Washington to provide weapons and funding to his country. * Revisiting the relationship Once he became president, Trump stopped claiming he would solve the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. In March, he said he was "being a little bit sarcastic" when he said that. In Trump's second term, Putin has pushed for a summit while trying to pivot from the Ukrainian conflict by emphasising the prospect of launching joint US-Russian economic projects, among other issues. "We'd better meet and have a calm conversation on all issues of interest to both the United States and Russia based on today's realities," Putin said in January. In February, things looked favourable for Putin when Trump had a blow-up with Zelenskiy at the White House, berating him as "disrespectful". But in April, as Russian strikes escalated, Trump posted a public plea on social media: "Vladimir, STOP!" He began voicing more frustration with the Russian leader, saying he was "Just tapping me along". Earlier in August, Trump ordered the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines "based on the highly provocative statements" of the country's former president, Dmitry Medvedev. Trump's vocal protests about Putin have tempered since he announced their meeting, but so have his predictions for what he might accomplish. On Monday, Trump described their summit not as the occasion in which he would finally get the conflict "settled" but instead as "really a feel-out meeting, a little bit". "I think it'll be good," Trump said. "But it might be bad." Donald Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska could be a decisive moment for both the war in Ukraine and the US leader's anomalous relationship with his Russian counterpart. Trump has long boasted that he has gotten along well with Putin and spoken admiringly of him, even praising him as "pretty smart" for invading Ukraine. But in recent months, he's expressed frustrations with Putin and threatened more sanctions on his country. At the same time, Trump has offered conflicting messages about his expectations for Friday's summit. He has called it "really a feel-out meeting" to gauge Putin's openness to a ceasefire but also warned of "very severe consequences" if Putin does not agree to end the war. For Putin, the meeting is a chance to repair his relationship with Trump and unlace the West's isolation of his country following its invasion of Ukraine. He has been open about his desire to rebuild US-Russia relations now that Trump is back in the White House. The White House has dismissed any suggestion that Trump's agreeing to sit down with Putin is a win for the Russian leader. But critics suggest the meeting gives Putin an opportunity to get in Trump's ear to the detriment of Ukraine, whose leader was excluded from the summit. Here's a look back at the ups and downs of Trump and Putin's relationship: * Russia questions during the 2016 campaign Months before he was first elected president, Trump cast doubt on findings from US intelligence agencies that Russian government hackers had stolen emails from Democrats, including his opponent Hillary Clinton, and released them in an effort to hurt her campaign and boost Trump's. In one 2016 appearance, he shockingly called on Russian hackers to find emails that Clinton had reportedly deleted. "Russia, if you're listening," Trump said, "I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing." Questions about his connections to Russia dogged much of his first term, touching off investigations by the Justice Department and Congress and leading to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, who secured multiple convictions against Trump aides and allies but did not establish proof of a criminal conspiracy between Moscow and the Trump campaign. These days, Trump describes the Russia investigation as an affinity he and Putin shared. "Putin went through a hell of a lot with me," Trump said earlier in 2025 of what he called a "phoney witch hunt". Putin in 2019 mocked the investigation's findings, saying, "A mountain gave birth to a mouse." * 'He just said it's not Russia' Trump met Putin six times during his first term, including a 2018 summit in Helsinki, when Trump stunned the world by appearing to side with an American adversary about whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election. "I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today," Trump said. "He just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be." Facing intense blowback, Trump tried to walk back the comment a day later. But clouded that reversal by saying other countries could have also interfered. Putin referred to Helsinki summit as "the beginning of the path" back from Western efforts to isolate Russia. He also made clear that he had wanted Trump to win in 2016. * Trump calls Putin 'pretty smart' after invasion of Ukraine The two leaders kept up their friendly relationship after Trump left the White House under protest in 2021. After Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, Trump described the Russian leader in positive terms. "I mean, he's taking over a country for two dollars' worth of sanctions. I'd say that's pretty smart," Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago resort. He later suggested Putin was going into Ukraine to "be a peacekeeper". Trump repeatedly said the invasion of Ukraine would never have happened if he had been president - a claim Putin endorsed while lending his support to Trump's false claims of election fraud. Through much of his campaign, Trump criticised US support for Ukraine and derided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a "salesman" for persuading Washington to provide weapons and funding to his country. * Revisiting the relationship Once he became president, Trump stopped claiming he would solve the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. In March, he said he was "being a little bit sarcastic" when he said that. In Trump's second term, Putin has pushed for a summit while trying to pivot from the Ukrainian conflict by emphasising the prospect of launching joint US-Russian economic projects, among other issues. "We'd better meet and have a calm conversation on all issues of interest to both the United States and Russia based on today's realities," Putin said in January. In February, things looked favourable for Putin when Trump had a blow-up with Zelenskiy at the White House, berating him as "disrespectful". But in April, as Russian strikes escalated, Trump posted a public plea on social media: "Vladimir, STOP!" He began voicing more frustration with the Russian leader, saying he was "Just tapping me along". Earlier in August, Trump ordered the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines "based on the highly provocative statements" of the country's former president, Dmitry Medvedev. Trump's vocal protests about Putin have tempered since he announced their meeting, but so have his predictions for what he might accomplish. On Monday, Trump described their summit not as the occasion in which he would finally get the conflict "settled" but instead as "really a feel-out meeting, a little bit". "I think it'll be good," Trump said. "But it might be bad." Donald Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska could be a decisive moment for both the war in Ukraine and the US leader's anomalous relationship with his Russian counterpart. Trump has long boasted that he has gotten along well with Putin and spoken admiringly of him, even praising him as "pretty smart" for invading Ukraine. But in recent months, he's expressed frustrations with Putin and threatened more sanctions on his country. At the same time, Trump has offered conflicting messages about his expectations for Friday's summit. He has called it "really a feel-out meeting" to gauge Putin's openness to a ceasefire but also warned of "very severe consequences" if Putin does not agree to end the war. For Putin, the meeting is a chance to repair his relationship with Trump and unlace the West's isolation of his country following its invasion of Ukraine. He has been open about his desire to rebuild US-Russia relations now that Trump is back in the White House. The White House has dismissed any suggestion that Trump's agreeing to sit down with Putin is a win for the Russian leader. But critics suggest the meeting gives Putin an opportunity to get in Trump's ear to the detriment of Ukraine, whose leader was excluded from the summit. Here's a look back at the ups and downs of Trump and Putin's relationship: * Russia questions during the 2016 campaign Months before he was first elected president, Trump cast doubt on findings from US intelligence agencies that Russian government hackers had stolen emails from Democrats, including his opponent Hillary Clinton, and released them in an effort to hurt her campaign and boost Trump's. In one 2016 appearance, he shockingly called on Russian hackers to find emails that Clinton had reportedly deleted. "Russia, if you're listening," Trump said, "I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing." Questions about his connections to Russia dogged much of his first term, touching off investigations by the Justice Department and Congress and leading to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, who secured multiple convictions against Trump aides and allies but did not establish proof of a criminal conspiracy between Moscow and the Trump campaign. These days, Trump describes the Russia investigation as an affinity he and Putin shared. "Putin went through a hell of a lot with me," Trump said earlier in 2025 of what he called a "phoney witch hunt". Putin in 2019 mocked the investigation's findings, saying, "A mountain gave birth to a mouse." * 'He just said it's not Russia' Trump met Putin six times during his first term, including a 2018 summit in Helsinki, when Trump stunned the world by appearing to side with an American adversary about whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election. "I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today," Trump said. "He just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be." Facing intense blowback, Trump tried to walk back the comment a day later. But clouded that reversal by saying other countries could have also interfered. Putin referred to Helsinki summit as "the beginning of the path" back from Western efforts to isolate Russia. He also made clear that he had wanted Trump to win in 2016. * Trump calls Putin 'pretty smart' after invasion of Ukraine The two leaders kept up their friendly relationship after Trump left the White House under protest in 2021. After Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, Trump described the Russian leader in positive terms. "I mean, he's taking over a country for two dollars' worth of sanctions. I'd say that's pretty smart," Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago resort. He later suggested Putin was going into Ukraine to "be a peacekeeper". Trump repeatedly said the invasion of Ukraine would never have happened if he had been president - a claim Putin endorsed while lending his support to Trump's false claims of election fraud. Through much of his campaign, Trump criticised US support for Ukraine and derided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a "salesman" for persuading Washington to provide weapons and funding to his country. * Revisiting the relationship Once he became president, Trump stopped claiming he would solve the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. In March, he said he was "being a little bit sarcastic" when he said that. In Trump's second term, Putin has pushed for a summit while trying to pivot from the Ukrainian conflict by emphasising the prospect of launching joint US-Russian economic projects, among other issues. "We'd better meet and have a calm conversation on all issues of interest to both the United States and Russia based on today's realities," Putin said in January. In February, things looked favourable for Putin when Trump had a blow-up with Zelenskiy at the White House, berating him as "disrespectful". But in April, as Russian strikes escalated, Trump posted a public plea on social media: "Vladimir, STOP!" He began voicing more frustration with the Russian leader, saying he was "Just tapping me along". Earlier in August, Trump ordered the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines "based on the highly provocative statements" of the country's former president, Dmitry Medvedev. Trump's vocal protests about Putin have tempered since he announced their meeting, but so have his predictions for what he might accomplish. On Monday, Trump described their summit not as the occasion in which he would finally get the conflict "settled" but instead as "really a feel-out meeting, a little bit". "I think it'll be good," Trump said. "But it might be bad."
Courier-Mail
5 hours ago
- Courier-Mail
UK PM hosts Zelensky in London on eve of US-Russia summit
Don't miss out on the headlines from Breaking News. Followed categories will be added to My News. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Thursday in London with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a strong show of support on the eve of a key US-Russia summit from which Kyiv and its European allies have been excluded. Starmer greeted the Ukrainian leader with a warm hug and handshake on the steps of his Downing Street residence, only hours after Zelensky took part in a virtual call with US President Donald Trump. Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet Friday at an air base in Alaska, the first time the Russian leader has been permitted on Western soil since his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine which has killed tens of thousands of people. A stepped-up Russian offensive, and the fact Zelensky has not been invited to the Anchorage meeting Friday, have heightened fears that Trump and Putin could strike a deal that forces painful concessions on Ukraine. But Starmer said Wednesday there was now a "viable" chance for a ceasefire in Ukraine after more than three years of fighting. Near the front line Thursday, Ukraine fired dozens of drones at Russia overnight into the early morning, wounding three people and sparking fires including at an oil refinery in the southern city of Volgograd. Kyiv calls the strikes fair retaliation for Moscow's daily missile and drone barrages on its own civilians. With such high stakes, all sides were pushing hard in the hours before Friday's meeting. - Three-way meeting? - Zelensky, who has refused to surrender territory to Russia, joined the call from Berlin with Trump, as did European leaders who voiced confidence afterward that the US leader would seek a ceasefire rather than concessions by Kyiv. Trump has sent mixed messages, saying he could quickly organise a three-way summit afterward with both Zelensky and Putin, but also warning of his impatience with Putin. "There may be no second meeting because, if I feel that it's not appropriate to have it because I didn't get the answers that we have to have, then we are not going to have a second meeting," Trump told reporters on Wednesday. But Trump added: "If the first one goes okay, we'll have a quick second one," involving both Putin and Zelensky. Zelensky, after being berated by Trump at a February meeting in the White House, has publicly supported US diplomacy but has made clear his deep scepticism. "I have told my colleagues -- the US president and our European friends -- that Putin definitely does not want peace," Zelensky said. As the war rages on in eastern Ukraine, Zelensky was in Berlin Wednesday joining Chancellor Friedrich Merz on an online call with other European leaders, and the NATO and EU chiefs, to show a united stance against Russia. Starmer on Wednesday said Ukraine's military backers, the so-called Coalition of the Willing, had drawn up workable military plans in case of a ceasefire but were also ready to add pressure on Russia through sanctions. "For three and a bit years this conflict has been going, we haven't got anywhere near... a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire," Starmer told Wednesday's meeting of European leaders. "Now we do have that chance, because of the work that the (US) president has put in," he said. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte declared: "The ball is now in Putin's court." bur-jkb/jwp/giv Originally published as UK PM hosts Zelensky in London on eve of US-Russia summit
SBS Australia
5 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Some Russians are signalling a claim to Alaska ahead of Trump and Putin's visit
As United States President Donald Trump prepares to hold a meeting on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, old historical ties are re-emerging. Trump has previously said both Russia and Ukraine will have to swap land to end the fighting that has cost tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions. While the US bought the state from the Russians over 150 years ago, some are hailing the choice of venue as a victory for Russia, and perhaps a step towards it reclaiming Alaska. 'Alaska is ours' Alaska, which was once a Russian colony, was bought by the US in 1867 for US$7.2 million ($11 million), or roughly 2 US cents per acre. It's of strategic importance to the US, as it provides a large coastline across the Pacific and Arctic oceans with several military bases and commercial harbours. "I'm going to see Putin. I'm going to Russia, on Friday," the US president said mistakenly, ahead of the much-anticipated summit. On the streets and airwaves of Russia, the idea that Alaska rightfully belongs to Russia remains alive, often in satirical or provocative forms. A billboard proclaiming "Alaska is ours" briefly appeared in a Siberian region in 2022, stirring political concern before being revealed as a commercial advertisement. Now, as this territory becomes the backdrop for a high-stakes diplomatic meeting, it's a strong reminder of Alaska's Russian roots. Russia's special envoy on international economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, said the decision to hold the summit in Alaska was symbolically important for the US-Russian partnership. "Born as Russian America — Orthodox roots, forts, fur trade — Alaska echoes those ties and makes the US an Arctic nation," Dmitriev wrote on X. Last year, Russian state TV presenter Olga Skabeyeva referred to the US territory as "our Alaska". Kremlin-aligned media outlets are reportedly gushing over their country's links to the region. A Russian billboard that appeared in Siberia in 2022, which read "Alaska nasha", which translates to "Alaska is ours", sparked concern among some US politicians. Credit: Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Russia during the Obama administration, said the meeting venue is a reminder to Russian nationalists of a "raw deal". "Trump has chosen to host Putin in a part of the former Russian empire," he wrote on X. "Wonder if he knows that Russian nationalists claim that losing Alaska, like Ukraine, was a raw deal for Moscow that needs to be corrected." Following the 2022 billboard incident, Alaska's governor, Mike Dunleavy, weighed in with a "good luck" post on social media. "To the Russian politicians who believe they can take back Alaska: Good luck," he wrote on X. 'Alaska is the most strategic location in the world' In his latest tweet, Dunleavy described the state as a "bridge between nations", welcoming the upcoming meeting between the two leaders. "Alaska is the most strategic location in the world, sitting at the crossroads of North America and Asia, with the Arctic to our north and the Pacific to our south," he wrote on X last week. "With a mere two miles separating Russia from Alaska, no other place plays a more vital role in our national defence, energy security, and Arctic leadership. He said what happens in the Arctic and the Pacific impacts Alaska before the rest of the country, "so it's fitting that discussions of global importance take place there". "For centuries, Alaska has been a bridge between nations, and today, we remain a gateway for diplomacy, commerce, and security in one of the most critical regions on earth. The world will be watching, and Alaska stands ready to host this historic meeting."
