Some people wondered if the president was actually announcing he plans to give Alaska back to Russia during Friday's upcoming meeting.

The U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska is happening at a site where East meets West in a place familiar to both countries as a Cold War front line of missile defense, radar outposts and intelligence gathering.

Thus far in August, the intensity of Russian strikes on Ukraine appear to have eased. The first 11 days of this month have seen Moscow launch a daily average of 74 drones and one missile into Ukraine, compared with record-breaking July figures of 201 drones and around six missiles per day.