Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy to Ukraine, is leaving his post in January, a move that comes as the White House shops a proposal to end Russia’s war that would require major concessions from Kyiv.
A White House official, granted anonymity to discuss personnel moves within the administration, confirmed news of Kellogg’s departure Thursday. Reuters was the first to report on the special envoy’s plans.
Trump first tapped Kellogg to lead negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine shortly after winning reelection in November 2024. But the former national security adviser to Mike Pence and retired lieutenant general fell out of favor early in Trump’s term with White House officials who saw him as too sympathetic to Ukraine.
By March, Kellogg had been largely shut out of peace talks, with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and other senior officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, taking on a greater role.
The peace proposal Witkoff has circulated this week contained several points that have been nonstarters for Ukraine, blindsiding European officials who felt the president had come around to their side in recent months after his initial skepticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The plan calls for Ukraine to cede major swaths of territory and face military restraints, among other concessions, but officials on both sides of the Atlantic have stressed that many aspects of the plan remained in flux.
But administration officials have expressed confidence in their proposal. Top military officials are in Kyiv this week to sell Zelenskyy on the plan.
