Trump nominates Keith Kellogg to serve as special envoy to Ukraine & Russia. What it means for the war

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Keith Kellogg to serve as a special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, a newly conceived role to deal with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Trump made the announcement on Truth Social on Wednesday. Kellogg is an 80-year-old retired US Army lieutenant general and has previously served as a national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence.

The retired general has been appointed to the role as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues into its third year. “I am very pleased to nominate General Keith Kellogg to serve as Assistant to the President and Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Keith has led a distinguished Military and Business career, including serving in highly sensitive National Security roles in my first Administration,” the president-elect wrote in the post.

“He was with me right from the beginning! Together, we will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!” he added. In 2017, Kellogg was promoted to become the acting security adviser to Trump himself after Michael Flynn resigned.

What’s his take on the Russia-Ukraine war?

In the past, Kellogg mentioned that one of the ways to end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is to get both parties on the negotiation table. “We tell the Ukrainians: ‘You’ve got to come to the table, and if you don’t come to the table, support from the United States will dry up,’” Kellogg told Reuters in June.

“And you tell [Vladimir] Putin [that] he’s got to come to the table and if you don’t come to the table, then we’ll give Ukrainians everything they need to kill you in the field,” he added. Kellogg’s nomination might not sit well with the Ukrainians.

Oleh Shamshur, a former Ukrainian ambassador to the US, told The Hill that he was pessimistic about Kellogg’s potential appointment. “As I understand, he totally accepts the logic of Trump’s ‘peace plan’ as related by [vice-president-elect JD] Vance,” said Shamshur, referring to Vance’s support of ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia and rejecting plans for Ukraine to join NATO.

Kellogg’s nomination came at a time when Trump’s upcoming presidency has prompted questions about the ongoing war, which has escalated to a great extent in recent months. Before being elected as the president for the second time, Trump pledged to bring the war to an end in 24 hours. However, he never elaborated on how he will do so.