President-elect Trump announced on Wednesday that he had appointed Keith Kellogg as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg is a retired lieutenant general who was chief of staff at Trump’s National Security Council in his first term.
Trump said Kellogg was with him “right at the beginning” of his career and praised both his military and business achievements.
In a press release, the president-elect stated, “Together, we will secure peace through strength and make America and the world SAFE AGAIN!”
Trump has promised a rapid end to Russia’s conflict in Ukraine by leveraging his relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. This has caused concern among Kyiv supporters who fear that Trump will try to negotiate a deal that would cede Ukrainian territory or compromise the future security of the country.
Kellogg’s loyalty to Trump is a major reason for his appointment. This signals to Russia, Ukraine, and European allies his intention to directly represent the president’s views on Ukraine and Russia.
Kellogg has suggested in his writings that a ceasefire be implemented along the frontlines while acknowledging Ukrainian claims on territory occupied and ruled by Russia. Kellogg urged Russian president Vladimir Putin to come to the table for negotiations by threatening the removal of all restrictions on Ukraine’s long-range missiles. He also advocated threatening the suspension of U.S. Military Assistance to Kyiv to secure its place at the table.
Some were lukewarm in their initial reactions to Kellogg’s selection, focusing on the need for a robust U.S. commitment to Ukraine.
One security analyst in Washington who spoke candidly and requested anonymity said, “It was just a big gulp. It wasn’t horrible or amazing.”
He is not the most knowledgeable on Ukraine, but he is not a bad ideological person. There is still room for improvement. His plans for Ukraine were so-so.”
Oleh Shamhsur is a former Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. and he said that he was pessimistic regarding Kellogg’s appointment, even though he only knew him through the media.
“As I understand, he accepts the logic of Trump’s ‘peace plan’ as related by [Vice-President-elect JD] Vance,” he said, referring to Vance’s support for ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia and abandoning plans for Ukraine to join NATO.
Shamshur continued, “At the very end of the day he and his fellows will mainly be implementing their masters’ wishes.” “It is important to know what Trump’s plan is. You can get quite a few different opinions in Kyiv about what to expect from the Big Guy.” “I am mostly pessimistic.”
One European diplomat said, “He is better than any other option that has been rumored.” “He preached the need for Ukraine to be supported and that negotiations must start from a strong position.”
Kellogg previously expressed his skepticism about Russia and his support for arming Ukraine.
Kellogg told Voice of America in an interview conducted in July that you cannot trust the Russians.
Others who support Ukraine have cited reasons such as the need to fight back against Russia’s aggression and the dangers that a precedent could be set by China for an invasion of Taiwan.
Kellogg has focused mainly on the “America First Approach” in resolving conflicts without explaining why the U.S. would support Ukraine.
In an April 2024 proposal to end the war, he wrote: “Under an America First Approach to the Ukraine Conflict, once it reached a stalemate, and became a war by attrition, the best interest of Ukraine, America and the rest of the world was to negotiate a peace accord with Russia.”
Kellogg urged a ceasefire, a negotiated agreement in which the U.S. continued to arm Ukraine while strengthening its defenses so that Russia could not advance further. Kellogg also called for delaying any plans to have Ukraine join NATO. While President Biden has not pressed NATO to invite Ukraine to join the Alliance, NATO declared during its July Summit Declaration that Kyiv was on an “irreversible pathway” to joining the alliance.
He wrote that “Future American Military Aid, however, will be contingent on Ukraine participating in peace negotiations with Russia.”
To convince Putin to participate in peace talks, President Biden should offer that NATO membership for Ukraine be delayed for a longer period of time if he can get a comprehensive peace agreement with security guarantees.
Kellogg made similar proposals in an article published by the National Interest on December 20, 2023.
Kellogg wrote, “While less satisfying than what increasingly appears to be an unachievable total military victory”, this result would still represent a strategic loss for Russia as well as a strengthening of American security and the Western Alliance.
Some Republicans claim that the Ukraine conflict was a European issue of no concern to the United States. Trump is not in agreement with his public statements on the strategic level. He views ending the war in Iraq as a major issue of foreign policy, one that he intends to achieve on day one.”
