Sentiment toward Russia in Alaska has cooled since Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022. The Anchorage Assembly voted unanimously to suspend its three-decade-long sister city relationship with Magadan, Russia, and the Juneau Assembly sent its sister city of Vladivostok a letter expressing concern.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an ironic twist, President Donald Trump is set to discuss the war in Ukraine with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at a military base in Alaska that was crucial to countering the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War and still plays a role today.

Putin has been in the United States at least five times representing Russia's government. The last time Putin came to the U.S. was in September 2015, when he attended the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. Before that, Putin was here in 2005 and 2003, also for United Nations meetings.