Trump velger MAGA general som spesiell rep til Ukraina og Russland - AP

 

Trump selects longtime adviser Keith Kellogg as special envoy for Ukraine and Russia

FILE - Ret. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg speaks to reporters at Trump Tower, Nov. 15, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

By  FATIMA HUSSEIN and LOLITA C. BALDOR

Updated 11:28 PM CET, November 27, 2024

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has chosen Keith Kellogg, a highly decorated retired three-star general, to serve as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.

Kellogg, who is one of the architects of a staunchly conservative policy book that lays out an “America First” national security agenda for the incoming administration, will come into the role as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its third year in February.

Trump, making the announcement on his Truth Social account, said, “He was with me right from the beginning! Together, we will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!”

Kellogg, an 80-year-old retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, served as national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, was chief of staff of the National Security Council and then stepped in as an acting security adviser for Trump after Michael Flynn resigned.

As special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Kellogg will have to navigate an increasingly untenable war between the two nations.

The Biden administration has begun urging Ukraine to quickly increase the size of its military by drafting more troops and revamping its mobilization laws to allow for the conscription of those as young as 18.