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

Keith Kellogg speaks during a press briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, on Sept. 22, 2020. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -

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.

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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 defence 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.

The White House has pushed more than US$56 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of Russia's February 2022 invasion and expects to send billions more before Biden leaves office in less than two months. The U.S. has recently stepped up weapons shipments and has forgiven billions in loans provided to Kyiv.

Trump has criticized the billions the Biden administration has spent in supporting Ukraine and has said he could end the war in 24 hours, comments that appear to suggest he would press Ukraine to surrender territory that Russia now occupies.

As a co-chairman of the American First Policy Institute's Center for American Security, Kellogg wrote several of the chapters in the group's policy book. The book, like the Heritage Foundation's "Project 2025," is designed to lay out a Trump national security agenda and avoid the mistakes of 2016 when he entered the White House largely unprepared.

Kellogg in April wrote that "bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to a close will require strong, America First leadership to deliver a peace deal and immediately end the hostilities between the two warring parties."

Trump's proposed national security adviser, U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida, tweeted Wednesday that "Keith has dedicated his life to defending our great country and is committed to bringing the war in Ukraine to a peaceful resolution."

Kellogg featured in multiple Trump investigations dating to his first term. He was among the administration officials who listened in on the July 2019 call between Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in which Trump prodded his Ukrainian counterpart to pursue investigations into the Bidens.

The call, which Kellogg would later say did not raise any concerns on his end, was at the center of the first of two House impeachment cases against Trump, who was acquitted by the Senate both times.

On Jan. 6, 2021, hours before pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Kellogg, who was then Pence's national security adviser, listened in on a heated call in which Trump told his vice president to object or delay the certification in Congress of President Joe Biden 's victory.

He later told House investigators that he recalled Trump saying to Pence words to the effect of: "You're not tough enough to make the call."

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Baldor reported from Washington. AP writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.