Putin "plays with the desire of the U.S. administration to bring peace to Ukraine," Zahorodniuk said. "Putin wants to get the U.S. on their side to get all Donbas, something they cannot achieve without losing another few hundred thousand people and a year of time."

When U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska on Friday, it will be the latest chapter in the 49th state’s long history with Russia — and with international tensions.

Mrs Podicenko’s hope is echoed by several of the 1,000 Ukrainian refugees who fled to Alaska since 2022 with the help of New Chance, a Russian-language church. Mrs Podicenko moved to Alaska with her friend Olena Demchenko, and her two children, Aleksander, 15, and Sofia, seven. She now works in a care home in Anchorage.