Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, was not invited to the Trump-Putin summit in Anchorage, but 1,000 Ukrainian refugees in Alaska will be watching with trepidation.

Sentiment toward Russia in Alaska has cooled since Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022. The Anchorage Assembly voted unanimously to suspend its three-decade-long sister city relationship with Magadan, Russia, and the Juneau Assembly sent its sister city of Vladivostok a letter expressing concern.

For Putin, Friday’s meeting is a chance to repair his relationship with Trump and unlace the West’s isolation of his country following its invasion of Ukraine 3 1/2 years ago. He’s been open about his desire to rebuild U.S.-Russia relations now that Trump is back in the White House.