Keith Kellogg, the former US special envoy for Ukraine, has clarified claims regarding whether US President Donald Trump has pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to withdraw from the Donbas region.
According to the Operative Information Center-OMM, Kellogg stated in an interview with "Clash Report" that President Trump has never forced Zelensky to surrender the remaining parts of the Donbas to Russia.
Kellogg noted that while Russian President Vladimir Putin may have anticipated that the US administration would exert pressure on Kyiv regarding this issue, such expectations have not materialized. He emphasized that the Trump administration has no intention of compelling Ukraine to make territorial concessions to end the conflict.
The former envoy further expressed skepticism regarding Russian intentions, stating there is no guarantee that Moscow would cease hostilities even if it gained full control over the Donbas. He argued that there is no basis to believe that Russia's territorial ambitions would be limited to that region alone.
This clarification comes against the backdrop of ongoing diplomatic tensions. Previously, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had identified the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donbas as a primary condition for halting combat operations. The Donbas region, comprising the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, has been the focal point of the conflict since 2014, with Russia seeking to establish full control over these territories as part of its broader geopolitical objectives in the region.
