‘Putin supposed to be in jail’: In city hosting Trump-Putin meet, residents take to streets

She added that seeing local Americans turn out in support of Ukraine “made me cry”, but said it was “pretty sad” that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had not been invited.

A protester holds a Ukrainian flag and a sign during a rally in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (AP Photo)

Christopher Kelliher, a 53-year-old military veteran from Alaska, told the BBC he opposed the meeting: “It’s gross, it makes you want to take a shower. 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.”

The BBC also reported that Anchorage’s St Tikhon Orthodox Church has held three days of prayer ahead of the meeting. Its priest, Nicholas Cragle, said the war in Ukraine was “particularly painful and close to the hearts” of his parishioners. “We’re hoping that this meeting will lead to something… lead to a culmination of this conflict,” he said.

Members of the media stand outside Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. (AP Photo)

Others voiced support for the talks. Don Cressley, visiting Anchorage from North Pole, Alaska, for a fishing trip with his grandson, told the BBC: “I think it’s a good idea, I wish Zelenskyy would be out here too… get this thing over with.”

He said an end to the war was important “because of the destruction they’re doing to all the cities, all the buildings… making everybody more homeless, taking their foods away, their supplies away, their living right away.” He praised Trump, saying he was doing “an awesome job” in ceasefire talks.

Dug Loshbaugh holds a sign during a rally in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (AP)

Some locals expressed security concerns, with Russian military aircraft regularly detected near Alaska. Anchorage resident Russell Wilson said: “Although the Cold War is over between Russia and the US, they’re constantly patrolling our airways. If the president doesn’t put the hammer down, we could be the next Ukraine.”

Others dismissed fears of any direct threat. When asked by the BBC about a possible Russian invasion, Kelliher said: “Not really, everybody in Alaska owns a gun.”