In West Palm Beach, Florida, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he’s picked Keith Kellogg, a retired Army general, to be his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg, a three-star general who’s earned a lot of military honors, has been a trusted adviser to Trump on defense issues for years. Now, he’ll step into this new role at a time when Russia’s war on Ukraine is about to reach its third year.
Trump shared the news on his Truth Social account, saying, “He was with me right from the beginning! Together, we will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!”
At 80 years old, Kellogg brings a lot of experience to the table. He’s served as national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence and even took over as acting security adviser to Trump when Michael Flynn resigned. Now, as special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Kellogg will be tasked with handling a war that’s become more complicated as time goes on.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has been pushing Ukraine to grow its military by calling up more troops and changing laws to allow people as young as 18 to be drafted. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. has sent more than $56 billion in security aid to Ukraine and plans to send more before Biden leaves office.
Trump has criticized this spending, saying he could end the war in just 24 hours. His comments suggest that he might try to make Ukraine give up some of the land Russia has taken.
Kellogg has played a key role in Trump’s national security plans, even co-writing a book with other experts on how to fix the mistakes from Trump’s first term. The book outlines what a Trump-led national security agenda would look like, focusing on bringing peace to Ukraine and ending the war.
Rep. Michael Waltz, who Trump has suggested as his national security adviser, tweeted that “Keith has dedicated his life to defending our great country and is committed to bringing the war in Ukraine to a peaceful resolution.”
Kellogg was also involved in some of the key moments from Trump’s earlier time in office. He was part of the group that listened to Trump’s phone call with Ukraine’s president in 2019, when Trump asked Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s family. That call ended up being a big part of Trump’s impeachment cases, though he was acquitted both times.
On January 6, 2021, just before the Capitol riot, Kellogg was listening in on a call between Trump and Pence, where Trump urged Pence to try and block the certification of Biden’s win. Kellogg later told investigators that he remembered Trump saying something like, “You’re not tough enough to make the call.”