By Gram Slattery and Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has told associates he plans to leave the administration in January, four sources told Reuters, a departure that would mean the loss of a key advocate for Ukraine in the Trump administration.
Special presidential envoy is a temporary designation, and such envoys in theory must be confirmed by the Senate to stay in their positions past 360 days. Kellogg has indicated that January would be a natural departure point, given existing legislation, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.
His departure will be unwelcome news in Kyiv. The retired lieutenant general was widely viewed by European diplomats, Ukrainians included, as a sympathetic ear in an administration that has at times leaned toward Moscow’s view on the origins of the war in Ukraine.
News of the move comes as Ukraine confronts new headwinds on the diplomatic front.
Two sources told Reuters on Wednesday that the U.S. signaled to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that Ukraine must accept a U.S.-drafted framework to end the war with Russia that proposes Kyiv giving up territory and some weapons. The proposals, which include cutting the size of Ukraine’s armed forces, would represent a major setback for Kyiv.
That framework proposal was spearheaded by U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff, and it does not appear that Kellogg had a role in its drafting.
KELLOGG CLASHED AT TIMES WITH WITKOFF
Kellogg has more forcefully denounced Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure than other Trump administration officials. He at times clashed with Witkoff, who has repeated some of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s talking points and has long advocated a lopsided territorial swap as part of a long-term peace deal.
Among Kellogg’s successes was facilitating the release of dozens of hostages held by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in return for limited sanctions relief.
The White House and the State Department did not respond to requests for comment.
One person with knowledge of Kellogg’s decision said he never intended to stay in the administration for long.
TRUMP’S APPROACH TO UKRAINE HAS VARIED
While Trump has been laser-focused on ending the war in Ukraine, his approach to how to do so has varied dramatically.
In March, he briefly cut off some intelligence sharing with Ukraine, before quickly resuming it. In recent months, he has actually boosted some intelligence sharing with Kyiv.
And while Trump set up a new program through which European allies buy U.S. weapons on Kyiv’s behalf, he largely discontinued U.S. military assistance programs that had been set up by former President Joe Biden.
Trump came into office pushing for an immediate ceasefire, but abandoned that demand after meeting Putin in Alaska in August. In October, he again embraced the idea of a ceasefire along the front lines after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Washington.
The latest Witkoff-led proposal – to the extent it is embraced by other factions of the Trump administration – would seem to represent another shift towards accommodating Russia.
Separately, a U.S. delegation led by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is currently in Kyiv on a “fact-finding mission,” the U.S. embassy in Kyiv said. Army Chief of Staff General Randy George is also in the delegation and he and Driscoll will meet Zelenskiy on Thursday, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Kellogg has maintained a solid relationship with Trump, the sources said. But he was notably absent from the October encounter with Zelenskiy, which some allies attributed to administration infighting.
It was not immediately clear who – if anyone – would replace Kellogg. The United States has yet to appoint a Senate-confirmed ambassador for Ukraine. Career diplomat Julie Fisher was appointed in May as the charge d’affaires at the U.S. mission in Kyiv.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Don Durfee and Rod Nickel)
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