From Anchorage to Bethel to Sitka, thousands of Alaskans took to the streets Thursday and Friday to protest the meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Jo Bennett was among the several hundred demonstrators who gathered Thursday at a busy Midtown Anchorage intersection, the evening before the summit on Anchorage’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. She said it made no sense to have a meeting about the Ukraine war without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“There needs to be no discussion about Ukraine without Ukraine present,” Bennett said.
Around Bennett, people of all ages held signs and Ukrainian flags and all things blue and yellow. Organizers estimated that more than 1,000 people showed up. There were cheers, car honks and music from a whole marching band, with reporters from around the world putting it all in a spotlight.
Alina Morawski, who lives in Southcentral but has family in Ukraine,said it was moving to see so many people out in support of her country.
“It's a disgrace to see that Putin's on this land right now, I think it's absolutely shocking,” Morawski said. “It's hard to see the friendship between Ukraine and U.S. after a conversation like that. But then you look at the crowd here, and it's beautiful to see.”
Similar scenes played out across the state as Alaskans rallied in support of Ukraine and in support of democracy.
In Bethel, about a dozen people gathered at the community’s main intersection, waving hand-painted signs to lunchtime traffic. They collected car honks and an occasional middle finger from passersby. Protester Alyssa Leary held up a yellow and blue sign, declaring, “We stand with Ukraine."
“It's scary, honestly, and it's scary with the history Alaska has with Russia. I don't, I don't think Russia is one of our allies, and I don't like them being at our military base, not very far away,” Leary said. “It gives me anxiety.”
Meanwhile to the north in Fairbanks, almost 400 people turned up to protest Friday’s meeting between the two leaders. They hoisted a dozen Ukrainian flags on sticks and fishing rods over the Cushman Street Bridge in downtown. Many said they had Ukrainian friends and loved ones on their minds.
“Their sleep is disrupted, their nearby buildings get blown up by incoming missiles, and it's a horror show every day for them,” Dan LaSota said. “I thought a couple pictures and a video might cheer them up a little bit.”
In Sitka, 70 people protested across from the historic Russian Bishop's House. They carried signs calling Putin a war criminal and expressing distrust in his meeting with Trump leading to an end to the war. They even had a 7-foot paper-mache sculpture of Putin wielding Trump and Elon Musk as marionette puppets.
Valerie Radchenko, who is Russian and Ukrainian, immigrated to Sitka with her family from Moscow two years ago as a direct result of the war in Ukraine. She said her family is upset that Putin has now stepped foot in their newfound home but remained hopeful and committed to their convictions.
"We just want peace for Ukraine, and we stand with Ukraine,” Radchenko said. “We want (the war) to be over and we want Putin to be in prison for life."
Back in Anchorage, there were other rallies, too, like one in support of Trump. Over 100 people showed up, playing country music and waving American flags. James Butterworth said he appreciates Trump’s efforts to try to end the war in Ukraine.
“Trump is here, we're showing support for him, but also for our country,” Butterworth said. “He is doing things that nobody else has even thought or tried to do, and so we are supporting him for his efforts.”
An hour later, a crowd of close to a thousand people rolled out a massive Ukrainian flag on the Park Strip, near downtown, to send the message of support and unity.
