On two small islands in the middle of the Bering Strait, it’s possible to walk from the United States to Russia in midwinter.
Just two miles apart, Big Diomede and Little Diomede sit between two nations – a short distance away, but one day apart.
Big Diomede is in Russia, and Little Diomede is in the US state of Alaska.
It’s easy to forget that the two countries, which have often been at each other’s throats, are next-door neighbours.
The Diomede Islands have come into focus again recently, ahead of President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s meeting in Alaska on Friday to chat about ending the war in Ukraine.
It’s not just different countries and ways of life which separate these two islands – it’s an entire time zone.
Time travel between islands
Between Big and Little Diomede lies the International Date Line, an imaginary line literally separates time zones and different dates on the calendar.
If you were to leave Little Diomede in the US and walk to (in winter only when the water freezes over) or boat over to Big Diomede at 9 am on a Monday, when you reach Russia, it would be Sunday.
Unfortunately, it’s illegal to travel between the islands, but the allure remains.
Though local time adjustments mean that the time difference between the islands is 21 hours, not 24, the ability to ‘time travel’ between islands is a unique feature not found in many places on earth.
Though Big Diomede is a Russian military outpost, Little Diomede is home to a small population of Inupiat natives who call the island home.
The locals on Little Diomede have been separated from their Russian relatives since the Cold War began.
Local Frances Ozenna told the BBC: ‘We know we have relatives over there. The older generations are dying out, and the thing is, we know nothing about each other.
‘We are losing our language. We speak English now, and they speak Russian. It’s not our fault. It’s not their fault. But it’s just terrible.’
Now, the only connection Ozenna has with Russia is the passing military helicopters and fishing boats floating by.
A unique precedent ahead of Russia and America’s meeting
On Friday, Putin and Trump will sit down at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage for talks about Ukraine.
For Putin, the trip to Alaska has a unique history, given that the territory was bought from Russia in 1867.
Before then, it was an extension of Russia’s freezing cold, rural territory of Siberia.
After the land was sold, almost all native Russians left for their mainland, leaving Alaska widely unpopulated, except for native Inuits.
Some experts have speculated that Putin could use the region’s history to his advantage in talks about Ukraine.
Nigel Gould-Davies, former British ambassador to Belarus, told Sky: ‘It’s easy to imagine Putin making the argument during his meetings with Trump that, ‘Well, look, territories can change hands,’”
”We gave you Alaska, why can’t Ukraine give us part of its territory?”
Trump on Monday said he will try to help Ukraine recover some of its land from Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion on the sovereign country in 2022.
‘Russia’s occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They occupied prime territory,’ he said.
‘We’re going to try to get some of that territory back for Ukraine.’
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