The call to Beau Disbrow was unlike any the Anchorage realtor had ever received. His short-term rentals typically house tourists bound for glaciers or business travellers passing through. This time, the request came from the US Secret Service. “Most of my short-term rentals were booked, but I did manage to put some of them into one home,” he said.

The meeting feels personal to Ukrainian refugees in the city, with two world leaders expected to discuss the fate of a war they came here to escape.