Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and military commanders, as the U.S. shifted its policy away from years of efforts to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kellogg's trip came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that Kyiv was to blame for the war, which enters its fourth year next week, and talks between top American and Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia sidelined Ukraine and its European supporters.
Trump’s comments are likely to vex Ukrainian officials, who have urged the world to help them fight Russia’s full-scale invasion that began Feb. 24, 2022.
The battlefield has also brought grim news for Ukraine in recent months. A relentless onslaught in eastern areas by Russia's bigger army is grinding down Ukrainian forces, which are slowly but steadily being pushed backward at some points on the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line.
Trump told reporters at his Florida residence Tuesday that Ukraine “should have never started” the war and “could have made a deal” to prevent it.
Kellogg said his visit was “a chance to have some good, substantial talks.” Zelenskyy canceled his planned Wednesday trip to Saudi Arabia in what some analysts saw as an attempt to deny legitimacy to the U.S.-Russia talks about the future of his country.
American officials have signaled that Ukraine’s hopes of joining NATO in order to ward off Russian aggression after reaching a possible peace agreement won’t happen. Zelenskyy says any settlement will require U.S. security commitments to keep Russia at bay.
“We understand the need for security guarantees,” Kellogg said in comments carried by Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne Novyny on his arrival at Kyiv train station.
“It’s very clear to us the importance of the sovereignty of this nation and the independence of this nation as well. ... Part of my mission is to sit and listen,” the retired three-star general said.
Kellogg said he would convey what he learns on his visit to Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “and ensure that we get this one right.”