U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg has told associates he expects to leave his post in January, according to four sources cited by Reuters, signaling the exit of one of Kyiv’s strongest advocates inside the Trump administration.
Kellogg has been one of the administration’s sharper critics of Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure and has clashed with Witkoff, who has echoed some of Vladimir Putin’s arguments and pushed a territorial-swap model for a long-term settlement.
The news emerges as Ukraine faces fresh diplomatic pressure, with two sources saying Washington has told President Zelenskyy that Kyiv must accept a U.S.-drafted peace framework requiring territorial concessions, reductions to its armed forces, and the surrender of certain weapons. The plan, driven by U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff, was crafted without Kellogg’s involvement.
A separate U.S. delegation led by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is currently in Kyiv on a fact-finding mission, joined by Army Chief of Staff General Randy George, who is expected to meet with Zelenskyy on Thursday. Kellogg was absent from an October meeting with the Ukrainian president, an omission some allies tied to internal administration disputes.
