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'Part of my mission is to sit and listen' — Trump's envoy Kellogg arrives in Kyiv

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'Part of my mission is to sit and listen' — Trump's envoy Kellogg arrives in Kyiv
U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, speaks at the conference and says the regime in Iran is weaker and more vulnerable than it has been in decades (Siavosh Hosseini / Getty Images)

Keith Kellogg, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, arrived in Kyiv on Feb. 19. as part of Washington's effort to end Russia's full-scale war.

Upon his arrival, the U.S. official said his mission was mainly to "listen" to Ukraine's concerns and relay his findings to the White House.

"We understand the need for security guarantees. We understand... the importance of the sovereignty of this nation," Kellogg said.

"Part of my mission is to sit and listen and see what your concerns are."

President Volodymyr Zelensky offered that Kellogg's three-day visit could include an inspection of the front lines, a proposal not officially confirmed by the envoy.

Kellogg is visiting Kyiv shortly after the U.S. and Russian delegations held talks on ending the war in Saudi Arabia — without Ukraine's participation. Zelensky stressed that Ukraine would not accept the conclusions of talks carried out behind its back.

Trump's Ukraine envoy previously met with Zelensky and other top Ukrainian officials during the Munich Security Conference to discuss the war and the U.S.-proposed memorandum on Ukraine's rare earth minerals.

Recent developments indicate that Kellogg is being sidelined in Trump's peace efforts as he was not involved in the talks in Saudi Arabia. Some experts attribute this to Kellogg's pro-Ukraine stances and Russia's alleged objections to him.

‘Russians didn’t like him’ — Why Trump’s envoy Kellogg was sidelined from Russia talks
As U.S.-Russian talks on ending the war in Ukraine kicked off in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18, Keith Kellogg, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, appears to have been partially sidelined from the negotiations. Kellogg will focus on talks with Ukraine and Europe,
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Martin Fornusek

Senior News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

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