"Kellogg Knows Russia is Full of Shit"
All my sources are very happy with Trump's latest pick - and so am I
I must admit I’m impressed.
Right on the day when I interviewed Associate Professor and Chair of the Intelligence Studies department Fred Hoffman (out soon so subscribe) on the peace negotiations, Trump announced the name of his special envoy for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
His name is Keith Kellogg and he’s a retired general who served in the army for 35 years, led special operations command in Europe and the 82nd airborne. And visited Kharkiv Oblast in 2023, seeing what’s happening in Ukraine with his own eyes.
A very warm reception followed.
My Capitol Hill source said that there’s “no joy in Kremlin” due to his appointment; another person indicated that he knows his son and that the guy is “hugely pro-Ukraine and does a lot of helpful on the ground”; and one more that Kellogg knows that “Russia is full of shit and evil.”
Indeed, his latest interview with Fox News shows that we’re dealing with a highly reasonable person who’s not into fluff and doesn’t buy a single word of Putin’s nuclear bluff unlike poopypants Sullivan.
His policy paper for the America First Institute on Ukraine is likewise good, specifically this line: “Ukraine would not be asked to relinquish the goal of regaining all its territory, but it would agree to use diplomacy, not force, with the understanding that this would require a future diplomatic breakthrough which probably will not occur before Putin leaves office.”
I specifically picked this line since I believe that any talk of Trump surrendering all of Ukraine to Putin that’s been hurled aggressively by his critics can now be shelved.
Trump doesn’t exist in a vacuum — nor is he some lunatic who’d suddenly take a decision like that. In fact, Romanian former diplomat Eusabiu Slavitescu told me that Trump gave the green light to long-range strikes by Ukraine, according to his sources.
“Of course. Multiple sources familiar with the subject have indicated that he approved of them.
Plus, it’s highly unlikely that the outgoing Biden administration would do something like that without consulting Trump. And it’s a very convenient position for him: he can always say that look, Joe did it, not I, and thus remain faultless,” he said.
Secondly, it’s a misconception that Ukraine doesn’t need a ceasefire at the moment. That was the case in 2022 and, maybe, 2023. But not in 2024.
On the contrary, it is in dire need of it and the Ukrainian society, the real one and not carefully handpicked individuals who’d propagate to fight regardless, will tell you the same.
Men dodging draft en masse, mothers leaving Ukraine hastily with their 17 y.o. sons, lack of weapons, and constant air raids are a very-very real thing. We need that ceasefire to regroup the very same way Russia needs it.
Don’t take my word for it, my sources in Zelenskyy’s Office say the very same.
Thirdly, I’ve said this before but I’ll day this again: the Biden administration is bleeding us. They don’t want us to win but they also want to appear to be these benevolent individuals who are helping us “as long as it takes.” Or as Jonathan Fink brilliantly put it, being our “10% ally.”
Naturally, I’d prefer that either Biden or Trump give us all the weapons and we reconquer all the territory now. But if neither wants us to win, then of course I prefer Trump for negotiations. No one is able to take Biden seriously given his age, let alone Jake Sullivan.
And yes, all people familiar with the matter know that Biden wanted a peace push as well but it had to be initiated by Kyiv, not him. Again, don't take my word for it. This was bluntly relayed already back in May by pro-Ukraine groups working in Washington D.C., people who advocate for Ukraine relentlessly daily.
This is the reality of politics, not some smiles or dramatised media speeches.
Given that Waltz and Rubio are also professionals with very strong presence and personalities, I believe something good will come out of this. At least for several years because as Kellogg rightly put it, there’s no need to expect a diplomatic breakthrough until Putin kicks the bucket.
And the last time I checked, quite frankly, Botox didn’t grant anyone immortality.
Great work Lesia and I agree that Kellogg’s selection is spot on