The Brief

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to lay flowers at the graves of Soviet pilots in Alaska following his high-stakes summit with President Donald Trump — a symbolic gesture tied to a little-known chapter of World War II history.

The burial site, located at Fort Richardson National Cemetery near Anchorage, honors Soviet airmen who died in Alaska while training or ferrying U.S.-built aircraft to the Eastern Front under the Lend-Lease Program.

What we know:

Putin’s visit to the cemetery comes after his one-on-one and expanded meetings with Trump at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the flower-laying ceremony to Russian state media, saying it would take place before Putin departs Alaska.

The graves are maintained as part of a dedicate

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