As Trump was flying into Alaska, he was threatening severe consequences if Putin didn’t play ball. Trump stressed that he wouldn’t be happy if he left the summit without an immediate ceasefire and that new sanctions may be necessary if the Russians were intransigent.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon at the White House, just days after Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin left an Alaska summit without a ceasefire deal.

Trump has visited Alaska several times as president, pushed for expanded oil, gas and mining permits there, and even got funding for new polar icebreakers, a popular stance in a state he won with 54% of the vote in 2024.

“The symbolism of Alaska would be a reminder of how it was possible for the United States and Russia for most of the 19th century to transcend their ideological and political differences and their expansionisms, to have warm, friendly cooperative relations,” says David S. Foglesong, a history professor at Rutgers University - New Brunswick.

Before Trump and Putin hold a highly-anticipated summit in Alaska to discuss Moscow’s war on Ukraine, experts emphasize the historical significance of this location.