Trump's war envoy: Who is Keith Kellogg?

Donald Trump has selected his special representative for Ukraine and Russia: 80-year-old retired General Keith Kellogg. Kellogg's task will be to find ways to end the war. “Keith has had an outstanding career in both the military and business, including holding extremely important positions in national security during my first administration,” Trump explained his choice.

Longtime Trump Ally

Kellogg worked in the Trump administration during his first term as the Chief of Staff for the National Security Council and as a national security advisor to then-Vice President Mike Pence. Journalists describe him as a devoted supporter of Donald Trump.

He serves as co-chairman of the America First Policy Institute, an organization established in 2021 to promote Trump's ideas in foreign and domestic policy.

Kellogg has also been a commentator for the conservative American television channel Fox News and the liberal channel CNN.

Kellogg's Plan for Ukraine

This spring, Kellogg was one of the authors of a plan to resolve the war in Ukraine, published by the America First Policy Institute.

According to this plan, the U.S. should facilitate a ceasefire and seek to resolve the Ukrainian conflict through negotiations. Washington will continue to supply Ukraine with weapons to deter further Russian attacks—only if Kyiv agrees to peace talks. The U.S. will also warn Moscow that if it refuses negotiations, Washington will increase its aid to Kyiv.

To encourage Russia to participate in the talks, the U.S. and other NATO countries will postpone the issue of Ukraine's membership for a long time in exchange for a “broad and verifiable agreement with security guarantees.”

Ukraine will not be required to abandon its intent to reclaim all its territories seized by Russia. However, Kyiv must agree that only diplomatic means will be used to achieve this goal, and the process may take a long time.

To persuade Russia to agree to the deal, it is proposed to partially lift the sanctions imposed against it, while imposing tariffs on imports of Russian energy resources to fund Ukraine's reconstruction.

As reported by Reuters, the plan also includes a proposal to freeze the front line in its current form.

Will This Work?

Trump has not yet confirmed that his proposals for Ukraine will align with those outlined in the document prepared by the America First Policy Institute.

Critics of Trump fear that he will try to pressure Ukraine into a peace agreement on unfavorable terms (freezing the conflict or territorial concessions) by threatening to halt military assistance.

Ukraine has repeatedly stated that it will not agree to any territorial concessions or a freeze of the conflict.

In June 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined his own conditions for ending the war, which include the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from all territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions (which Russia seeks to annex) and Kyiv's refusal to join NATO.