Alaska

Putin ally calls for Alaska’s return to Russia

Published

1 year ago

December 28, 2024

Putin ally calls for Alaska’s return to Russia

Russian TV host Vladimir Solovyov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, recently called for Alaska’s return to Russia during a recent Russian-state media program.

Newsweek has reached out to Russia’s foreign ministry and the U.S. State Department via email for comment.

Why It Matters

Alaska once belonged to Russia. In 1867, it was sold to the United States after then-President Andrew Johnson signed the Alaska Treaty. It gained the status of a state on January 3, 1959. Alaska and Russia are positioned about 53 miles apart at their closest point.

Tensions around Russia and Alaska intensified in January 2024 when reports surfaced that Putin was looking into reobtaining Alaska, reviving an effort pushed by Russian media throughout the ongoing war in Ukraine that Moscow could seize the state.

Tensions remain high between North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Russia amid the Russian-Ukraine war as NATO leaders have increasingly warned that direct conflict with Moscow is a realistic danger. This comes after Putin and senior Russian officials have repeatedly threatened nuclear escalation against Kyiv and its Western partners since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Last month, Putin upped Moscow’s nuclear rhetoric after the U.S. allowed Kyiv to use longer-range ATACMS to strike inside Russia, formalizing changes to his country’s nuclear doctrine that lowers the threshold for atomic weapons use.

Along with the nuclear threat, NATO members such as Germany and the Baltic states have accused Moscow of hybrid attacks and said after the Ukraine war, Moscow could then make a move on countries in the alliance.

What To Know

During the recent program, Solovyov said Finland, Warsaw, the Baltics, Moldova, and Alaska should be “returned to the Russian Empire.”

“Do you think I’m joking when I mention Finland, Warsaw, the Baltics, Moldova? Everything returned to the Russian Empire. And Alaska too, while you’re at it,” Solovyov said in a translated video.

The clip was posted on Saturday by Anton Gerashchenko, a former adviser to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

“According to propagandist Solovyov, Finland, Warsaw, the Baltics, Moldova, and even Alaska should be ‘returned to the Russian Empire.’ They won’t stop at Ukraine. The Russian imperialists are insatiable,” Gerashchenko wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Four Russian military aircraft entered international airspace close to Alaska on December 17, the U.S. and Canada’s joint command said.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) announced that it detected and tracked the aircraft operating within the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

The Russian planes did not enter sovereign U.S. or Canadian territory, and the incident was not perceived as a threat. However, such encounters are not uncommon, and NORAD announced that a number of Russian aircraft entered the Alaska ADIZ in September.

Four aircraft were spotted on September 23; two Russian Il-38 patrol aircraft were tracked on September 14 and 15; two Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft were seen on September 13; and two unspecified Russian aircraft were identified on September 11.

TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov is seen in Saint Petersburg on June 6. Solovyov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, called for Alaska’s return to Russia during a recent Russian-state media program.

Olga MALTSEVA / AFP/Getty Images

What People Are Saying

State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said during a press briefing about Putin’s January comments: “I think I can speak for all of us in the U.S. government to say that certainly he’s not getting [Alaska] back.”

Deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev joked about Alaska in January on X, teasing that “war is unavoidable,” since the State Department said Russia was not getting Alaska back. He added a laughing emoji to the post.

Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House, previously told Newsweek: “Continued Russian approaches toward U.S. airspace are a reminder that while the bulk of Russia’s land forces are tied down in Ukraine, its air and naval forces continue to pose a global threat to its adversaries including the United States.

“It’s another indicator that Russia is readying itself for confrontation with the West beyond Ukraine, and any break in the fighting there – for instance through a ceasefire – will allow Russia to reconstitute its forces even faster without Ukraine destroying them almost as fast as they are rebuilt.”

What Happens Next

Although it remains unclear if Russia will make moves against Alaska. As the Russia-Ukraine war continues, tensions between Moscow and NATO are likely to increase, especially if the alliance’s European members bear more of the brunt of support for Ukraine.

The U.S. and other Western countries have been providing Ukraine with military aid to defend itself against Russia.

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Alaska

West Valley’s Jayden Miranda named Gatorade Alaska Boys Basketball Player of the Year

Published

9 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

West Valley’s Jayden Miranda named Gatorade Alaska Boys Basketball Player of the Year

West Valley Wolfpack junior guard Jayden Miranda looks to pass the ball during a 56-38 loss to the Forest Wildcats from Ocala, Florida during the opening round of the Alaska Airlines Classic at West Anchorage High School on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Junior Jayden Miranda on Friday became the latest player from West Valley High School to be named Gatorade Alaska Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

“It feels good and it was definitely one of the goals that I had to check off my checklist,” he said. “I woke up, and I didn’t know. My coach told me, and it was just excitement in my heart. My heart was beating and I was just smiling.”

Miranda led the Wolfpack boys basketball team to a Mid Alaska Conference championship and the No. 1 seed at the 2026 ASAA 4A state tournament.

The 5-foot-11 guard also helped lead West Valley to a 22-4 record, and through 23 games, he averaged 14.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists as well as shooting 51.8% from the floor and 39.7% from the perimeter.

“Miranda is a great kid on and off the court — gets good grades and never gets in trouble,” North Pole head coach Travis Church said in a statement. “Looking around 4A, I don’t see anyone who would measure up. He’s the best player on the best team in the state. It’s hard for me to imagine going with anyone else.”

Miranda is the second player from the program to receive the award. The first was two-time recipient Stewart Erhart, who was honored in back-to-back years from 2022-23.

The award acknowledges a student-athlete’s athletic achievement, and also recognizes outstanding academic excellence and exceptional character displayed on and off the court.

Miranda maintained a 3.36 GPA and volunteered locally with the Fairbanks Community Food Bank, donated time as a youth basketball coach and is a practiced artist who has also taken multiple cooking classes in high school.

He and the top-seeded Wolfpack fell short of advancing to the finals Friday after losing 59-52 to fifth-seeded South Anchorage.

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Alaska

Noordam Starts Repositioning Cruise to West Coast – Cruise Industry News

Published

21 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Noordam Starts Repositioning Cruise to West Coast – Cruise Industry News

The Noordam sailed from Australia earlier this month to kick off a 36-night repositioning voyage to the West Coast. Sailing between Sydney and Seattle, the month-long itinerary started in mid-March and includes destinations in the South Pacific, French Polynesia and Hawaii. The cruise is highlighted by overnight visits to Honolulu…

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Alaska

Big Oil Flocks to Alaska in Record-Setting Petroleum Lease Sale | OilPrice.com

Published

1 day ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

Big Oil Flocks to Alaska in Record-Setting Petroleum Lease Sale | OilPrice.com

The first lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska in seven years became the most successful auction in the area ever, as oil majors bid on hundreds of tracts, signaling they haven’t given up on Alaska’s petroleum resources despite development and court challenges.

This week’s oil and gas lease sale for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, one of five mandated in the next decade under the Trump Administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), drew a record high of $163.7 million in high bids and resulted in 187 leases in total, awarded to companies including ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and a consortium of Repsol and Shell subsidiaries.

The lease sale set a record for Alaska with the most revenue generated ever, the most tracts receiving bids, and the second most acreage sold in a single sale, the Bureau of Land Management said.

The BLM offered 625 tracts across about 5.5 million acres for bid in the sale, revived at the end of last year by the Trump Administration. No lease sales were held in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska under President Biden.

In the first sale since 2019, a total of 11 companies submitted bids on 187 tracts covering 1,334,967 acres.

The Trump Administration, the state of Alaska, and the local oil and gas association welcomed the results of the record-setting lease sale as a vote of confidence for Alaska’s role in American energy dominance, while environmentalists vowed to challenge any oil and gas drilling in court, the way they are already doing for the lease program itself.

The Three Companies Rebuilding America’s Rare-Earth Arsenal

“Today’s lease sale underscores the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska’s vital role in strengthening America’s energy security while fueling economic growth across Alaska,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said.

Alaska’s Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy noted that the lease sale “reinforces Alaska’s role as a reliable energy producer, supports high-paying jobs for our families, provides additional revenue to the state, and strengthens American energy security at a time when energy security is more important than ever.”

The Alaska Oil and Gas Association and other business organizations in the state said that the “strong participation and unprecedented results underscore renewed investor confidence in Alaska’s North Slope and the state’s long-term resource potential.”

“The Trump administration deserves credit for helping restore access and certainty in the petroleum reserve, allowing industry to step forward with meaningful commitments,” said Steve Wackowski, president and CEO of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association.

“That confidence is critical to advancing responsible development of Alaska’s vast resources, supporting jobs, sustaining the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, and strengthening U.S. national security in an increasingly uncertain world.”

The National Petroleum Reserve already hosts one massive oil development— the $9-billion Willow project by ConocoPhillips, which was approved by the Biden Administration in 2023, and is expected to start producing oil in 2029. Peak production is designed to be about 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude.

Going forward, the development of any additional resources in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve would not be a fast and easy task. The conditions are harsher than in other areas, while environmentalists have vowed to fight both the latest lease sale and any future oil and gas drilling and development plans.

The Invisible Metals Powering a Trillion-Dollar Economy

Two groups represented by Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Friends of the Earth, restarted litigation last month challenging the lease sales and the underlying management plan, which opens 18.5 million acres within the 23-million-acre Reserve to potential oil and gas drilling and infrastructure.? Three other lawsuits also challenge the lease sale or decisions related to it.

“The results of this sale will spell disaster for the surrounding area,” said Hallie Templeton, Legal Director at Friends of the Earth U.S.?

“We will continue to see the Trump administration in court over its blatant disregard of federal law and complete failure to protect this vulnerable and rapidly shrinking area of our planet.”

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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