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The US is “with” Ukraine and any deal to end the fighting with Russia should ensure there is no “next war”, President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Kyiv and Moscow has said.
Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg’s comments, on a visit to a Ukrainian military hospital on Friday, are in stark contrast to the aggressive rhetoric from his boss, who has called President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections” and suggested Ukraine started the war.
Earlier, the retired US officer, 80, had also chosen to describe Mr Zelenskyy as “the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war” – using very different language to Mr Trump’s.
There are concerns among Ukrainian officials, however, that General Kellogg – who was not part of a top-level US delegation that held a landmark meeting with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia to talk about an end to the war – has been sidelined by the White House.
Still, the Ukrainian president and his top team have engaged closely with him during a three-day trip to Kyiv that ended on Friday evening.
Ukrainians react to Trump
Very little of General Kellogg’s engagements have been made public. An anticipated news conference at a meeting between him and Mr Zelenskyy on Thursday was downgraded to a photo opportunity at the request of the US side, according to a Ukrainian official.
But a pool reporter accompanied him as he travelled to the Irpin Military Hospital, in a town just north of Kyiv, at around midday, where Ukrainian troops with leg and arm amputations were receiving treatment.
“The biggest reason I wanted to come here was President Trump has said he wants to stop the killing, and you’ve got to go to the place where you see what killing looks like – what death looks like – and see young men and women who have been wounded and combat,” the three-star officer said.
“As a soldier, you owe them that respect. As a leader, you owe that respect.”
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Kellogg spoke with about 20 troops, sitting with each one and having individual discussions.
One soldier, who gave his name as Denis, asked General Kellogg: “In your opinion, can we trust Russia? That they will negotiate?”
The special envoy replied: “That’s a wonderful question. You almost have to look back in history, and you have to have an ability to negotiate. All wars end through negotiation, the ultimate victory on the battlefield ends with diplomacy, and today’s world is no different.”
General Kellogg then suggested a better question would be, “Can you trust the people that you are with to make sure that they’re with you? It’s sort of like you ask a deeper question – are you with us? And the answer is, yes, we are.”
President Donald Trump has accused Ukraine of starting the war. Pic: AP
Treading a careful line, amid conflicting words from the White House about which side started the war, he continued: “I think the nations of the world recognise aggression.
“Sometimes diplomacy for a soldier is messy, but what the soldier does is he gives time for the politicians and the diplomats to come to a conclusion, and that’s the reason why I make that comment that Ukraine owes you – the world owes you – because you basically sacrifice to allow diplomats to find… a good conclusion – a conclusion you fought for.
“We, in that position, we owe you that. We need to make sure that we end this right.”
Denis responded to say that Ukraine must have “a strong army” as he was concerned Russia would attack again following any peace agreement, saying it could be “five, maximum 10 years of peace and then it could get back to the next phase of war”.
General Kellogg replied: “Well I think the intent is there’ll be no next war.”
The envoy’s visit took place as Mr Trump launched a series of blistering attacks against the Ukrainian president in an apparent display of frustration that Mr Zelenskyy had refused to sign a deal to hand over 50% of Ukraine’s natural mineral resources as part of a new economic and security partnership with the US.
The Ukrainian leader had called such a high price – worth about $500bn – not a “serious” conversation and said that he did not have the right to barter with Ukraine’s resources.
The talks are continuing, however, with Ukraine signalling it is willing to negotiate a deal in return for US security guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression.
Taking to social media on Friday morning, General Kellogg described having had a “long and intense day” on Thursday.
“Extensive and positive discussions with [Mr Zelenskyy], the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war and his talented national security team,” he posted on X.
