The Trump administration's Ukraine peace envoy, Keith Kellogg, has postponed a visit to Kyiv until after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20, Reuters reported on Jan. 6, citing four sources with knowledge of the trip.
According to the sources who spoke to Reuters, the new date has not yet been set, and it was not immediately clear as to why the trip was postponed.
President Volodymyr Zelensky previously confirmed to journalists in Brussels on Dec. 19 that Kellogg would visit Ukraine before Trump's inauguration in January, according to a Kyiv Independent reporter.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said on Dec. 20 that Ukraine and the U.S. had initially reached a preliminary agreement on the date of a visit to Kyiv by Kellogg — although that date was never publicly revealed.
Reuters reported on Dec. 18 that Kellogg planned to visit Kyiv and several European capitals before Trump takes office on Jan. 20 as part of the new administration’s effort to address Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
Sources confirmed on Jan. 6 that Kellogg remains committed to visiting other European capitals, including Rome and Paris.
Kellogg, a former national security advisor to Vice President Mike Pence, is a known figure to Ukraine and "has maintained close ties... in recent years" with Kyiv, Tykhyi said on Nov. 28.
Trump has pledged to quickly bring an end to the war but has not provided details on how he plans to do it.
Zelensky recently said that the country must do everything possible to end the war through diplomatic means in 2025, adding that a war would "end faster" under a Trump administration.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
(Updated: )
