President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he’s appointed retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, a former national security aide, as a special envoy to Russia and Ukraine.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump praised Kellogg’s long-standing loyalty and his ability to “secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!” Trump said Kellogg has a “distinguished military and business career.”
“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,” Trump said.
During Trump’s first term, Kellogg served as the National Security Council’s chief of staff and as national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, CBS News reported. With Trump about to re-enter the White House, the future of U.S. engagement in the Ukraine conflict remains uncertain.
Kellogg is co-chairman of the America First Policy Institute’s Center for American Security and has authored several chapters of the institute’s policy book, The Associated Press reported. This publication, akin to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, aims to craft a Trump-era national security strategy, correcting the unpreparedness seen in 2016 when Trump first took office.
Kellogg previously advocated for an assertive America First approach to broker a peace deal and promptly conclude the Russia-Ukraine conflict, AP reported. He expressed his hope that the policy book will act as a practical, intellectual guide for implementing an America First national security strategy.
“It’s a grand strategy,” Kellogg said. “You don’t start with the policies first. You start with the strategies first. And that’s what we’ve done.”
Multiple sources report that Trump and businessman Elon Musk held a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During the conversation, Trump discussed the future U.S. support for Ukraine.
“We both want to see this end, and we both want to see a fair deal made,” Trump told reporters alongside Zelenskyy at a press conference in September. “It should stop and the president (Zelenskyy) wants it to stop, and I’m sure President Putin wants it to stop and that’s a good combination.”
The State Department said last week that the Biden administration intends to forgive approximately $4.7 billion in loans previously extended to Ukraine. However, several lawmakers are actively working to block this debt forgiveness, according to spokesman Matthew Miller.
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