🍝 THE DAILY SITDOWN 🍝

So what's the story here? "Putin is supposed to be in jail, and he just comes to Alaska like that." Hanna Correa is amongst a sea of Alaskans waving Ukrainian flags on road leading into Anchorage. "When I entered through that parking lot, and I see a lot of Americans, they're supporting, it made me cry," she says. Ms Correa, 40, left Ukraine in 2019 for love, and six years later, the future of her country could be decided in her adopted home town. US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are set to touch down at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, a 30 minute drive away. Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky is not invited, something Ms Correa says is "pretty sad". Among those protesting their arrival is Christopher Kelliher, a 53-year-old military veteran and Alaskan native. "It's gross, it makes you want to take a shower," he says of the meeting. "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." This region's history with Moscow gives Friday's summit added significance. The US purchased Alaska from the Russians in 1867 for $7.2m (£1.48m). Critics called the purchase 'Seward's Folly', arguing the land amounted to a frozen wasteland. But later discoveries of rare earth minerals and abundant oil and gas put paid to that label. Ornate churches are among the most visible symbols of Alaska's Russian heritage. The St Tikhon Orthodox Church in Anchorage has been holding three days of prayer ahead of leaders' arrival. Priest Nicholas Cragle, an American who recently moved to Alaska after living in Russia for seven years, says the conflict is "particularly painful and close to the hearts" of parishioners. "We're hoping that this meeting will lead to something... lead to a culmination of this conflict," says Mr Cragle. That feeling is shared by fishermen ankle-deep in creek bed on the outskirts of town, drawn to the area by the allure of some of the world's finest salmon. "I think it's What can I tell ya?