U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg arrives in Kyiv for talks with Zelensky, other top officials

Feb. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, arrived in Kyiv for meetings with officials on Wednesday saying he was there to "listen," a day after Ukraine was left out of key U.S.-Russia talks in Saudia Arabia to lay the groundwork for peace negotiations.

Kellogg said the three-day visit was to view the situation for himself, hear the concerns of the Ukrainians and report back to Washington.

"We understand the need for security guarantees. We understand the importance of the sovereignty of this nation," the retired U.S. Army lieutenant general said after he was met off train from Poland by U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink.

"A part of my mission is to sit and listen and see what your concerns are, go back to the United States, talk to President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and the rest of the team, just to ensure that we get this one right."

Kellogg may also make an as-yet-unconfirmed visit to the east of the country to inspect the frontlines of the fighting.

Ahead of the visit, Kellogg confirmed he would be meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, who reacted to the talks between high-level U.S. and Russian officials in Riyadh on Thursday by saying Ukraine would never accept any peace deal agreed without its involvement.

Speaking at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Tuesday evening, Trump pushed back against Zelensky, saying that he had had three years to negotiate a deal end to a war he "should never have started" and backing Russian calls for March 2024 election postponed due to the war to be held.

Prior to meeting Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw on Tuesday, Kellogg met with European Union President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius in Brussels, the U.S. Mission to the EU said in a post on X.

"European engagement will be vital to resolving the conflict and maintaining lasting peace. America First does not mean America alone," the mission said.

Kellogg held a one-on-one meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels on Monday where he also addressed a gathering of NATO's North Atlantic Council and before that was part of the U.S. delegation to the Munich Security Conference in southern Germany.

"I emphasized U.S. expectations for future European deterrence and defense and our partnership with European government on ending the Russia-Ukraine war. We thank NATO Secretary General Rutte for advancing more robust Europe-led security initiatives," Kellogg wrote on X.

Kellogg's Ukraine visit came as Russia mounted a massive drone strike on the southeastern port of Odessa overnight, injuring four people, including a child, and plunging much of city into darkness and leaving 250,000 people without power, heat or water.