Days before the leaders of Russia and the U.S. hold a summit meeting in Alaska, Moscow’s forces breached Ukrainian lines in a series of infiltrations this week in the country’s industrial heartland of Donetsk.

As President Trump is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, NBC News’ Gadi Schwartz looks at the historical ties between the state of Alaska and Russia.

“The symbolism of Alaska would be a reminder of how it was possible for the United States and Russia for most of the 19th century to transcend their ideological and political differences and their expansionisms, to have warm, friendly cooperative relations,” says David S. Foglesong, a history professor at Rutgers University - New Brunswick.