Ivan Hodes, a U.S. Army veteran, shows the bracelet he wears in memory of a West Point classmate who died in Ukraine. Hodes was standing on Aug. 15, 2025, at the Government Hill gate of Joint Base Elemdorf-Richardson, participating in a protest against the summit taking place later in the day between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
As the leaders of the United States and Russia met on Anchorage’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Friday, supporters of Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion staged multiple demonstrations in Alaska to protest the meeting and what they predicted would be capitulation to Russian goals.
Ivan Hodes, a U.S. Army veteran, was among a group protesting Friday morning at the Government Hill gate to JBER. It was important to be at the base gate, “in front of the place where it’s happening,” he said.
“We object to the summit. We object to Putin being on American soil. We object to him being on a military base, specifically a military base that has been at the forefront of defense against Russian and Soviet aggression for 60, 70 years. We want to object to (Ukraine President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy not being invited. Without the victim of Russian aggression, it’s an exercise in carving up somebody else’s territory.”
For Hodes, there is also a personal aspect to his opposition. A West Point classmate, Andrew Webber, died in July 2023 in combat defending Ukraine, he said. “Everything I’m doing here is to honor his memory,” Hodes said.
In a counter demonstration, supporters of President Donald Trump gathered in Midtown Anchorage to cheer for the president and praise his quickly arranged summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Justin McGhee, who held a sign that said “Praying for Trump,” said he hoped the summit would be a step toward peace.
“It’s important to support Trump at this time. There’s a lot of stuff going on, a lot of division in the world. And I just think we have to get more united,” he said.
The Anchorage location for the Trump-Putin summit was not that important, McGhee said. “It wouldn’t matter if it was here or in Oklahoma. A good thing might happen,” he said.
The biggest event was likely the afternoon rally on the Delaney Park Strip in downtown Anchorage. There, Ukraine supporters unfurled a 136-foot-long Ukrainian flag that had been flown to the city earlier in the day from New Jersey. Owned by a nonprofit organization, it is the second-largest Ukrainian flag in existence, rally organizers said.
Supporters gripped the edges of the flag and held it aloft above the park’s grass, while photos were snapped by a drone buzzing above.
Art Davidson, an Alaska author and co-founder of a U.S.-based organization that provides humanitarian aid to Ukraine, was a featured speaker at the downtown event.
He said the large gathering was gratifying to Dr. Olga Shpak, the executive director of the organization, Assist Ukraine, and others in Ukraine, Davidson said.
“It means so much to them to see support from everybody,” he told the crowd. “A big, big, big hug from Olga, Dr. Olga Shpak …. And a big hug from the people on the front lines.”
Davidson and veteran war correspondent Anne Garrels founded Assist Ukraine in the early days of the war. The organization has been sending donations to Ukraine from around the world and has opened an orphanage in the country, Davidson said.
Former Lt. Gov. Loren Leman, a Republican who also served in the state Senate, was among those who attended the pro-Trump rally.
He said he was hopeful that the Trump-Putin summit will help end the war in Ukraine.
“What’s happening there, it’s a tragedy,” he said. “I’m hoping that the discussions will result in peace.”
Asked who he believed was at fault for the war, Leman paused before answering.
“Ukraine was invaded. That shouldn’t have happened,” he said. But there may be fault on both sides of the conflict, he said. “There’s probably some fault in everybody. We all have faults.”
