KELLOGG: TRUMP REFUSED TO FORCE UKRAINE TO SURRENDER DONBAS
Former U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg says Vladimir Putin expected Donald Trump to pressure President Zelenskyy into voluntarily surrendering the remaining Ukrainian-held territory in Donetsk region
According to Kellogg, that pressure never came. He characterized Trump’s message to Moscow as: “If you want this land, fight for it.”
It matters that Trump did not order Ukraine to surrender—but let us be clear: he apparently did not tell Putin to abandon his illegal conquest either. “Fight for it” leaves Ukrainian soldiers and civilians paying in blood for land Russia has no lawful claim to take
Kellogg says Trump exhausted the available diplomatic tools, yet diplomacy that merely refuses to reward aggression is only the minimum. The stronger message should be unmistakable: Donbas belongs to Ukraine, Russia must withdraw, and the aggressor—not its victim—must be pressured until the war ends.
Ukraine is grateful it was not pushed to capitulate. But after years of invasion and mass civilian suffering, Ukrainians are entitled to expect more than permission to keep fighting alone.