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ANCHORAGE, RUSSIA - Imagine waking up to the headline: “Trump Returns Alaska to Russia.” Absurd, right? And yet, this is precisely the kind of “land for peace” logic Donald Trump is now applying to Ukraine.
Russia’s ties to Alaska run deep. The first Russian settlement was founded in 1784, and Russian Orthodox churches still dot the landscape. Aleut Islanders continue to blend Orthodox faith with shamanistic traditions, preserving connections that predate the United States itself. After Russia’s defeat in the Crimean War of the 1850s, Tsar Alexander II sold the territory to the Americans, giving the U.S. what many considered a frozen wasteland. History proved otherwise.
Today, Alaska is priceless. Its oil, gas, and minerals are worth hundreds of billions. Its fisheries feed the nation. Melting permafrost reveals untapped reserves and shipping lanes that will shape the future of global trade. Militarily, Alaska is indispensable—the northern shield of the United States, home to fighter squadrons, missile defense systems, radar stations, and the fastest routes to Asia and Europe. Brigadier General Billy Mitchell once called it “the most strategic place on earth.”
And yet, the unthinkable is being entertained. Over the weekend, Trump declared that Ukraine should “make a deal” with Russia because “Russia is a very big power, and they’re not.” At a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, he relayed an offer for peace: Russia would freeze most front lines if Kyiv ceded all of Donetsk. President Zelensky refused, as he should. Russia already occupies a fifth of Ukraine, including most of Donetsk, seized in part back in 2014.
Here is the heart of the matter: Ukrainians will not, and cannot, treat their land like a poker chip. More than 80 percent of the country rejects territorial concessions, even if it means prolonging the war. For them, the loss of Crimea, Donbas, or any province is not just a strategic setback, it is an existential wound. Land is not just soil and resources; it is memory, identity, and sovereignty.
So what if Trump applied his “logic” at home? Why not give Putin Alaska? After all, it was once Russian. He could call it a win-win: Putin gets “historic claims,” Trump gets his peace prize, Alaskans get a new flag.
Of course, the idea is laughable. Americans would see it as a betrayal, a humiliation, a direct threat to national security. Russia on our doorstep in Anchorage? Unthinkable. But this is exactly how Ukrainians view suggestions that they surrender Crimea or Donbas. What looks like compromise from afar feels like capitulation on the ground.
This is the lesson Trump and his allies ignore: land is not a bargaining chip. States are more than territory. They are symbols of permanence, belonging, and pride. No American would accept the loss of Alaska. Why should Ukrainians accept the loss of their homeland?
That’s why Alaska remains American, and why Crimea and Donbas remain fiercely fought over. Frozen landscapes and fertile fields alike are not for sale. If we would never sign away our own, we should understand why Ukrainians fight just as hard for theirs.
(George Cassidy Payne is a freelance journalist, poet, and crisis counselor based in Rochester, New York. He writes extensively on faith, culture, and social justice, weaving together perspectives from philosophy, theology, and lived experience. George’s work has appeared in local and national outlets, and he is passionate about exploring the intersections of religion and community in a rapidly changing world.)
