The Donald J. Trump administration has been described as running a ‘good cop-bad cop’ strategy toward the embattled Ukrainian leadership: while the President and many of his top aides are lambasting Volodymyr Zelensky and asking for new elections, the special envoy, retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, was able to make significant progress alongside Kiev.
It’s now been reported that the US is close to a deal with Ukraine for access to hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of mineral rights.
New York Post reported:
“Kellogg, believed to be one of the few Trump administration officials still supportive of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, began his two-day trip back to the US without confirming a deal that the White House has pushed hard for — but which high-level officials in Zelensky’s government view as a shakedown.”
President Trump announced at the White House that the US and Ukraine would sign an agreement soon.
“’It’s a big deal, but they want it, and it keeps us in that country, and they’re very happy about it’, Trump added later. ‘We get our money back. This should have been signed long before we went in. It should have been signed by [former President Joe] Biden’.
After a tense week of back-and-forth barbs between Washington and Kyiv, it was Kellogg’s visit Friday to wounded Ukrainian veterans at Irpin Military Hospital northwest of Kyiv that ingratiated the US to Zelensky, nudging the deal closer to the finish line, sources familiar with the situation told The Post.”
Kellogg also published a post praising Zelensky publicly.
“’A long and intense day with the senior leadership of Ukraine’, Kellogg wrote on his personal X account following a round of meetings Thursday. ‘Extensive and positive discussions with @ZelenskyyUa, the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war and his talented national security team’.”
Of course, what is lacking from Kellogg’s post is any mention to the usual narrative about the ‘unprovoked’ Russian aggression.
After the failed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s trip to Ukraine, Kellogg has achieved a positive movement in the negotiations.
Former Ukrainian President Poroshenko, expected to run against Zelensky whenever there is a next presidential election in Kiev:
“’A discussion with Trump requires diplomatic skill, patience and silence, sufficient not to reflect on his every statement’, he said. ‘I worked with him for three years and know what I’m talking about. The authorities should work on the mistakes and figure out [who failed] in building relations with the new American administration. Who, instead of building bridges, burned them? Now the government’s problems in communication with Washington have become a problem for our entire country’.”
Ukraine minerals deal is nearly done pic.twitter.com/DfkZYOdADv
— Karli Bonne’ (@KarluskaP) February 22, 2025
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The post ‘Good Cop’ General Kellogg Returns From Successful Ukraine Trip – US Reportedly Close to a Deal With Kiev Over Mineral Rights appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.