US President-elect Donald Trump announced in a post on his social media site "Truth Social" last Wednesday that he has chosen Keith Kellogg, a lieutenant general in the reserves who presented him with a plan to end the war in Ukraine, as his special envoy for the conflict, Reuters reported, BTA writes.
A quick end to the war in Ukraine was one of Trump's main campaign promises, although he avoided discussing in detail exactly how he would do it, the agency points out.
Kellogg, who was chief of staff to the White House National Security Council during Trump's term from 2017 to 2021 and national security adviser to then-Vice President Mike Pence, is likely to play a central role in the new administration's efforts to resolve the conflict.
Trump's election has sparked renewed interest in a policy document co-authored by Kellogg that outlines proposals to end the war by cutting off arms supplies to Ukraine if it does not begin peace talks, but also to provide even more weapons to Ukraine if Russia does not do the same, the newspaper reported. „Guardian“.
Trump is said to be in favour of the plan, titled „America First, Russia and Ukraine“, which was presented to him in April and was drafted by Kellogg and former CIA analyst Fred Fleitz.
The document proposes to halt further US arms deliveries to Kiev if it does not start peace talks with Moscow, while warning Moscow that if it refuses to negotiate, US support for Ukraine will increase.
The authors of the plan blame the „frivolous and inconsistent“ US foreign policy under Joe Biden for the three-year conflict, including the „hasty“ his decision to withdraw the US from Afghanistan, his opposition to US allies including Israel and Saudi Arabia, and his policy towards China, described as “weak and confusing“.
The document also accuses the Biden administration of putting “the idealistic agendas of the global elite above working relations with Russia“. According to the authors, Biden's “hostile policy“ has turned Russia into an enemy of the US, pushed it into “the arms of China“ and led to “the creation of a new Russia-China-Iran-North Korea axis“.
Kellogg and Fleitz criticize what they say was a decision to adopt a scolding tone towards Vladimir Putin, as well as to threaten “unprecedented“ sanctions as he prepared to invade Ukraine, “instead of using negotiations to de-escalate tensions“. “The “America First” approach could have prevented the invasion“, they write.
Kellogg, like Trump, considers it a priority to keep American troops out of “unnecessary and endless wars“, while the United States must be able to continue to project military power, the American publication “Hill“ points out.
“This means working in alliances and with partners to promote regional security, while requiring alliance members and allies to bear their full burden in protecting security in the region“, Kellogg states in the document.
The general criticizes the large amounts of cash and weapons aid provided to Ukraine over the past two years, arguing that this has depleted US military stocks, its defense industrial base and put the country's military readiness at risk.
The Kellogg-Fleitz plan envisages that The front line in Ukraine would be frozen by a ceasefire, followed by the creation of a demilitarized zone, CNN notes. In return, Russia would receive limited sanctions relief, with full relief only when a peace deal is signed that Ukraine likes.
A levy on Russian energy exports would pay for Ukraine's reconstruction, the plan also states. Ukraine would not be asked to give up its occupied territories, but it would agree to seek their return only through diplomatic means. It would acknowledge that "this would require a future diplomatic breakthrough, which is unlikely to occur before Putin leaves office."
The approach is elegantly simple and quick, CNN comments, but it adds that it lacks consideration for what Moscow would demand and for which it has used the diplomatic process in the past, namely - the cynical pursuit of its military goals. A possible freeze on the front line would be preceded by several months of intensified fighting, as Moscow would seek to seize as much territory as possible, the media outlet points out.
Arming Ukraine to the point where it could stop current and future Russian offensives would also be difficult, CNN points out. The Kellogg plan notes that the United States produces 14,000 155-millimeter artillery shells per month, which Ukraine can use up in just 48 hours. Paradoxically, the plan calls for the US to send more weapons to Ukraine, but also assumes that they cannot actually do so, the media outlet commented.
Kellogg's choice comes at a time of uncertainty for Ukraine, whose soldiers are exhausted from months of efforts to hold back Moscow's offensive in the east of the country, the “Washington Post“ writes. Russian commanders have acquired "Starlink" terminals (Starlink) and use them to improve the coordination of their units, distribute them into small strike groups and support them with drones and artillery to push Ukrainian forces out of the Donetsk region, the publication states.
The American metropolitan newspaper quotes analysts who say that Russia's battlefield successes, which coincided with Kiev's attempt to occupy the Russian Kursk region, have led to some of the fastest rates of territorial losses for Ukraine since 2022.
Ultimately, however, the Kellogg-Fleitz plan, while not going into too much detail, also seems to reflect the opinion and advice of General Mark A. Milley, Biden's former top military adviser, argued that since neither Russia nor Ukraine could win the conflict, the only path to peace was a negotiated settlement, the Guardian concludes.