Against a war criminal — Alaskans gear up to protest Putin visit

Alaska’s biggest city is bracing for protests as Vladimir Putin prepares to touch down for a face-to-face with Donald Trump — a meeting sparking outrage across the Last Frontier.

The political group Stand Up Alaska has called for a rally Thursday, Aug. 14, the day before the high-stakes summit. Their message is blunt: “Alaska with Ukraine.”

“With the blessing of our governor, President Donald Trump has invited Vladimir Putin,” the group said in a fiery online statement. “We’re sending a clear message to both Trump and Putin: Alaska stands firm against authoritarianism.”

On Facebook, organizers went even further, urging residents to take to the streets in Anchorage to protest the presence of “an international war criminal.”

Trump announced he’ll meet Putin on Aug. 15 in Alaska — a date quickly confirmed by Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov. According to the White House, Putin personally asked for the meeting during talks with Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff.

Behind the scenes, world media is buzzing with reports on possible ceasefire deals in Ukraine. Bloomberg says one option would see Kyiv abandon Donetsk and Luhansk and freeze the battle lines in Kherson and Zaporizhia. The Wall Street Journal claims Putin wants Ukrainian troops out of Donbass. German tabloid BILD reports the Kremlin still demands full control of all four regions.

Kyiv isn’t budging. President Volodymyr Zelensky took to Telegram to remind the world that Ukraine’s constitution forbids ceding land. “Nobody will back down from this. Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier,” he declared. Later, citing intelligence, he warned that Putin has no plans to stop fighting, instead shifting troops and armor for new offensives. “Putin wants to present the meeting with America as his personal victory and keep pressuring Ukraine,” Zelensky said.

The political drama comes after Trump threatened sky-high tariffs — 100% secondary sanctions on Russia and its trade partners — if Ukraine’s war didn’t cool within 50 days. He later cut that to 10 days, a deadline that expired Aug. 8. But with Putin’s personal invitation for a summit, the sanctions never landed.

On Aug. 14, Anchorage streets are expected to swell with signs, flags, and voices — all aimed squarely at Putin’s arrival.