bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named staunch loyalist and retired general Keith Kellogg as his Ukraine envoy, charged with ending the two-and-a-half-year Russian invasion.
Trump campaigned on a platform of ushering a swift end to the Ukraine war, boasting that he would quickly mediate a ceasefire deal between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
But his critics have warned that the incoming Republican will likely leverage US military aid to pressure Kyiv into an agreement that left it ceding occupied territory permanently or agreeing not to join Nato.
“I am very pleased to nominate General Keith Kellogg to serve as Assistant to the President and Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia,” Trump said in a statement on social media.

“Keith has led a distinguished Military and Business career, including serving in highly sensitive National Security roles in my first Administration.”
A fixture on the cable news circuit, the 80-year-old national security veteran co-authored a paper earlier this year calling for Washington to leverage military aid as a means of pushing for peace talks.
Ukraine has received almost US$60 billion from Washington for its armed forces since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022, but with the more isolationist Trump taking over the White House, supporters fear the spigot will run dry.
“The United States would continue to arm Ukraine and strengthen its defences to ensure Russia will make no further advances and will not attack again after a ceasefire or peace agreement,” Kellogg’s research paper for the Trumpist America First Policy Institute think tank said.
“Future American military aid, however, will require Ukraine to participate in peace talks with Russia.”
Kellogg served in several positions during Trump’s first term, including as chief of staff on the White House national security council and national security adviser to then-vice president Mike Pence.

Kellogg told Voice of America at the Republican convention in July that Ukraine’s options were “quite clear”.
“If Ukraine doesn’t want to negotiate, fine, but then accept the fact that you can have enormous losses in your cities and accept the fact that you will have your children killed, accept the fact that you don’t have 130,000 dead, you will have 230,000-250,000,” he said.
Trump’s announcement came as the outgoing administration of Democrat Joe Biden was hosting a news conference to urge Ukraine to enlist more recruits by reducing the minimum age of conscription to 18 – in line with the US benchmark.
Facing a much larger enemy with more advanced weapons and with stocks of volunteers dwindling, Ukraine is facing an “existential” recruitment crunch, a senior administration official told reporters.
“The simple truth is that Ukraine is not currently mobilising or training enough soldiers to replace their battlefield losses while keeping pace with Russia’s growing military,” said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
He added that an additional 160,000 troops would be “on the low end” to fill out Ukraine’s ranks – but “a good start”.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby later clarified that the White House would not make the huge flow of US military aid to Kyiv dependent on a conscription age change.
“We’re absolutely going to keep sending Ukraine weapons and equipment. We know that’s vital. But so, too, is manpower at this point,” he told reporters.
The former Soviet republic’s population has fallen by more than a quarter since its mid-1990s peak of 52 million, and authorities are desperate to shield the younger generation – but a US congressional report in June estimated the average Ukrainian soldier is 40.
Zelensky signed a decree in April lowering the draft age from 27 to 25 but the move did not alleviate the chronic troop shortages, according to US officials.


Russia mounts massive attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure

Ukraine on course for even greater tragedy

Trump taps retired US general Keith Kellogg as special envoy for Ukraine and Russia

Before Trump returns, US presses Ukraine to draft 18-year-olds to fight Russia

Ukraine war

Keith Kellogg in 2020. File photo: Reuters

Donald Trump with Keith Kellogg in 2017. File photo: AFP

New Ukrainian recruits at a training field. Photo: AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump meeting in New York in September. File photo: TNS

New Ukraine recruits at a training field at an undisclosed location in Kharkiv region. Photo: AFP

A training session for Ukrainian conscripts and veterans in eastern France. Photo: Reuters

Russian conscripts in Bataysk walk towards a bus before their departure for garrisons on November 16. Photo: Reuters

 Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting with Donald Trump in New York in September. File photo: AP

FBI probes bomb threats and ‘swatting attacks’ against Trump’s cabinet picks

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defence. Photo: AP

Elise Stefanik, Donald Trump’s choice to be US ambassador to the United Nations. Photo: AP

Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin. File photo: TNS

Matt Gaetz was Donald Trump’s initial pick to serve as attorney general. File photo: TNS

New Russian missile fired at Ukraine carried warheads without explosives: sources

Parts of a ballistic missile, which Russia used in a strike towards Dnipro city in Ukraine last week. Photo: Reuters

Parts of the ballistic missile. Photo: Reuters

A reporter films parts of the missile that were collected for examination. Photo: AFP

News

World

United States & Canada

US Elections

Diplomacy

Politics

Donald Trump, a longtime sceptic of continued US assistance to Ukraine, has vowed to bring about a swift end to the war


Donald Trump, a longtime sceptic of continued US assistance to Ukraine, has vowed to bring about a swift end to the war.
