As former Russian territory sold to the United States in 1867, Alaska carries a symbolic weight — a bridge between two nations linked by history and the Arctic, even as they stand on opposite sides of a war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's likely route to the U.S. this week is a short one: just 55 miles across the Bering Strait from Chukotka to Alaska. The path avoids third-party countries and contested airspace and would be coordinated with U.S. authorities for security.

Putin is expected to arrive at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, outside Anchorage, home to the Alaskan NORAD Region headquarters, which monitors and defends U.S. airspace in the north.

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Alaska is America's front line in the Arctic, home to nine maj

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