Moscow has shut the door on Keith Kellogg, Donald Trump’s special envoy to Russia and Ukraine, refusing to let him participate in ongoing peace talks. According to NBC News, Russian officials see the retired U.S. Army lieutenant general as “too hawkish” and overly aligned with Ukraine’s interests.
Kellogg was noticeably absent from last month’s Russia-U.S. discussions in Saudi Arabia and this week’s U.S.-Ukraine meetings in Jeddah. The White House has since confirmed that Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, will step in for him at future negotiations. Witkoff landed in Moscow late Thursday, taking over the role.
A Russian official, speaking anonymously to NBC, didn’t mince words: “Kellogg is a former American general, too close to Ukraine. Not our kind of person, not the caliber we’re looking for.” The Trump administration, for its part, acknowledged Moscow’s firm opposition to Kellogg’s involvement. Sources say the snub hit Kellogg hard, though neither he nor Russian officials have publicly addressed it.
Clashing Visions for Peace
Despite backing Trump’s push to end the Ukraine war, Kellogg’s strategy has clashed with Moscow’s vision for a resolution. He’s supported continued U.S. military aid to Kyiv—something Russia claims only prolongs the conflict—and has advocated for freezing the war along the current front lines, an idea the Kremlin flatly rejects. On top of that, Kellogg has pushed for using frozen Russian assets to rebuild and rearm Ukraine, a move Moscow has condemned as outright theft.
Political analyst Malek Dudakov speculated that Kellogg’s exclusion might be permanent, particularly after last month’s fiery exchange between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Their tense meeting reportedly spiraled into a shouting match when Zelensky resisted Trump’s demand to begin peace talks with Russia. The confrontation ended abruptly, with Trump accusing him of “gambling with World War III.” In the aftermath, a major U.S.-Ukraine rare-earth minerals deal stalled, and Washington temporarily froze military aid and intelligence-sharing with Kyiv.
“Kellogg was the go-between with Ukraine, instructing their side, and we’ve seen how that turned out—total failure,” Dudakov told RT. “Now, he’s out.”
With Kellogg sidelined, all eyes are on Witkoff as he steps into the diplomatic fray. Whether his presence shifts the course of negotiations remains to be seen.
