WASHINGTON, DC - US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg is set to travel to the region in the coming days, according to two sources who spoke to Kyiv Post on Friday. The visit comes as a deadline set by the president for a peace deal with Russia is rapidly approaching. The news of Kellogg’s expected trip coincides with a planned trip to Russia by Steve Witkoff, another of Trump’s envoys.
Trump confirmed Witkoff’s travel on Thursday. “Yeah, going to Israel and then he’s going to Russia, believe it or not,” the president told reporters.
Trump’s skepticism and the Russian proposal
Sources told the Kyiv Post’s Washington correspondent that Witkoff’s trip was “proposed by the Russians” early this week and received approval despite Trump’s initial skepticism. The president reportedly told advisors he thought the trip would be “useless.”
The diplomatic missions are taking place as Trump’s self-imposed deadline for a truce with Russia, now set for August 8, rapidly approaches. The president has expressed increasing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, originally issuing a 50-day deadline on July 14 before shortening it this week.
A deadline and tariffs
Trump told reporters on Thursday that he expects to impose sanctions once the deadline expires, though he expressed doubt that such penalties would alter Putin’s behavior. “We’re going to put sanctions. I don’t know that sanctions bother him,” he said. These penalties are expected to take the form of secondary levies, which would target countries that continue to buy Russian exports like oil, thereby bolstering Russia’s economy. This could particularly impact major trading partners of Russia, such as China and India. The president has already taken a tough stance on India, imposing a 25 percent tariff and threatening additional levies over the country’s purchases of Russian energy and weapons. Trump also made a series of critical remarks about India and Russia, calling their economies “dead.”
Kellogg’s recent visit and a lull in attacks
Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general, last visited Kyiv two weeks ago. During that visit, he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials to discuss strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses, defense weapons, and new sanctions against Russia. Ukrainians noted that Russia refrained from bombing the capital during Kellogg’s week-long visit.
Zelensky, speaking to an American media outlet last week, interpreted the lull in attacks as a sign that Putin is afraid of the United States.
He also said his people were joking that they should give Kellogg a Ukrainian passport to keep him in the country permanently and deter further Russian aggression.