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.

Whether the U.S.-Russia summit can lead to a deal to produce peace in Ukraine more than 3 1/2 years after Moscow’s invasion remains to be seen.