EXCLUSIVE — Ukraine must not be forced to surrender any territory in a peace deal that has not been captured by Russian forces, according to Donald Trump’s former special envoy to the two countries.
It is the clearest split between Keith Kellogg, a retired three-star general, and his former boss, who last year pushed for a deal that would cede the Eastern Donbas to Moscow even though Russian forces had failed to conquer it.
Kellogg delivered his warning in a speech on Wednesday evening at Decatur House, less than a block from the White House.
“Ukraine should not be compelled to surrender any land that Russia has proven unable to take by military might,” he said at a briefing organized by the Independent Women’s Forum. “Such an outcome would not be prudence, it would be pressing. It would tell the world that borders can still be revised by weakness and by violence, that endurance can substitute for legitimacy, and that the will of free people can be discounted if an aggressor is patient.”
In 2024, Kellogg was tapped to lead Trump’s efforts to find peace in Ukraine.
Word spread that he was departing his role last November, after Trump’s friend Steve Witkoff took more responsibility for the region and the White House circulated a 28-point draft peace plan that would have seen Kyiv cede swaths of land and limit its military. The plan alarmed Washington’s European allies and triggered warnings that it amounted to a victory for Moscow.
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Kellogg, who was known for making a strong case for backing Ukraine, remained broadly supportive of Trump’s approach to the region since leaving the administration in January.
But with war in Iran and officials in China watching every move, Kellogg said America’s adversaries would be alert to any sign of U.S. weakness in a deal.
“If Russia is granted through diplomacy what it could not secure through force, the message to every adversary is clear,” he said. “Aggression may fail on the battlefield and still succeed in the negotiations later.”
“That is a dangerous message for Moscow,” he added. “That is a dangerous message for Beijing as well. It is a dangerous message for Tehran, and it’s also a dangerous message for Pyongyang.”
Trump promised to find peace in Ukraine on his first day back in office, but reality has proven harder to navigate.
The peace process remains stalled for now, and the White House is instead focused on the conflict with Iran. In the meantime, long-range Ukrainian drone strikes have hampered Russian supply lines and may be turning the tide in Kyiv’s favor.
Kellogg was speaking at a briefing titled “The Russia Reality,” which was designed to foster support for Ukraine among elements of the hard right that push Moscow’s talking points. He argued that an America First approach involves projecting strength, not capitulating to a regime like Vladimir Putin’s that “kidnaps children” and “persecutes Christians.”
“America should want this war to end,” Kellogg said. “Every serious leader should, but America should want to end it away that strengthens deterrence, restores the stability, and leaves our adversaries less confident, not more.”
“We should want an end that makes future war less likely, not more likely.”
“This is not only about Ukraine, it is about the credibility of American power, it is about the security of Europe, it is about the message we send to every adversary watching, and it is about the kind of world our children and grandchildren will inherit,” Kellogg concluded.