report by The Times<\/a>, Kellogg outlined a scenario in which British and French troops would be deployed west of the Dnipro River to serve as a “reassurance force,” while Russian troops would retain control over territory they currently occupy in the east. Between the opposing forces, a demilitarized zone (DMZ) approximately 18 miles wide would serve as a buffer to prevent hostilities.<\/p>\n\u201cYou could almost make it look like what happened with Berlin after World War Two,\u201d Kellogg said. \u201cYou\u2019re west of the [Dnipro], which is a major obstacle. It\u2019s a big enough country to accommodate several armies seeking to enforce a ceasefire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Kellogg emphasized that American troops would not be deployed on the ground, the plan implicitly acknowledges Russia’s de facto control over occupied eastern Ukrainian regions\u2014a stance that could provoke unease in Kyiv and other European capitals.<\/p>\n
The remarks came on the same day Trump\u2019s envoy to Russia, Steve Witkoff, held a four-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. In a post on Truth Social, Trump again urged Putin to agree to a ceasefire, writing: \u201cRussia has to get moving. Too many people are DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war \u2014 a war that should have never happened, and wouldn\u2019t have happened, if I were president!!!”<\/p>\n
According to The Times, the Kremlin has already warned not to expect breakthroughs from the St. Petersburg talks. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has reiterated Moscow\u2019s opposition to any NATO peacekeeping presence and dismissed proposals that would entail the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from occupied territories.<\/p>\n
Kellogg\u2019s partition proposal, the first from a senior Trump administration official to suggest a Dnipro-based demarcation line, has been met with criticism from analysts and European officials. Ukraine\u2019s functioning, democratically elected government stands in sharp contrast to the postwar German regime that necessitated foreign military administration. Critics warn the analogy is both historically flawed and diplomatically insensitive, especially as Russia continues to justify its invasion under the pretext of “de-Nazification.”<\/p>\n
The general also proposed that Ukraine would hold fresh elections once a ceasefire is reached\u2014a move likely to be viewed in Kyiv as a concession to Putin, who has repeatedly questioned President Volodymyr Zelensky\u2019s legitimacy.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, relations between Washington and Kyiv appear to be cautiously improving. As reported by The Times, Kellogg noted the resumption of talks over a critical minerals deal, which could give the U.S. access to Ukraine\u2019s vast reserves of lithium, titanium, and uranium in exchange for postwar reconstruction support. A Ukrainian technical delegation arrived in Washington on Friday to advance discussions.<\/p>\n
However, Kellogg acknowledged that U.S. officials underestimated the complexities of the arrangement. \u201cThe last time anybody did a geological survey was during the Soviet era,\u201d he said. Despite this, he framed the initiative as a necessary transition from “business deal” to “diplomatic deal.”<\/p>\n
While U.S. officials wait for Russia to present new ceasefire terms, the situation on the ground remains dire. As noted by The Times, a Russian missile strike earlier this week on Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky’s hometown, killed 19 people, including nine children. European leaders have cited such attacks as evidence that Moscow is not serious about peace.<\/p>\n
Within Europe, frustration is also building over what some officials perceive as slow and inadequate planning for postwar stabilization. EU Foreign Affairs Chief Kaja Kallas recently questioned whether the proposed “coalition of the willing” had clear goals for their presence in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
British Defence Secretary John Healey, speaking alongside his German and Ukrainian counterparts, pushed back, announcing a record \u00a318 billion in military aid to Kyiv, including \u00a34.5 billion from the UK alone for 2025. Still, Kellogg warned European leaders like UK Labour leader Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron not to depend on American military backing. \u201cAlways plan for the worst case,\u201d he advised.<\/p>\n
Kellogg maintained that Trump would likely welcome increased European involvement and urged leaders to directly engage Washington. \u201cPick up the phone,\u201d he said, suggesting that the current U.S. administration sees its role as guiding, rather than leading, future peace enforcement.<\/p>\n
As the war grinds on and ceasefire discussions remain unresolved, Kellogg\u2019s proposal has laid bare the evolving contours of Trump\u2019s Ukraine strategy\u2014one that appears to blend geopolitical realism with the risk of legitimizing territorial conquest. Whether this approach accelerates peace or entrenches division remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
Within Europe, frustration is also building over what some officials perceive as slow and inadequate planning for postwar stabilization. EU Foreign Affairs Chief Kaja Kallas recently questioned whether the proposed “coalition of the willing” had clear goals for their presence in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
British Defence Secretary John Healey, speaking alongside his German and Ukrainian counterparts, pushed back, announcing a record \u00a318 billion in military aid to Kyiv, including \u00a34.5 billion from the UK alone for 2025. Still, Kellogg warned European leaders like UK Labour leader Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron not to depend on American military backing. \u201cAlways plan for the worst case,\u201d he advised.<\/p>\n
Kellogg maintained that Trump would likely welcome increased European involvement and urged leaders to directly engage Washington. \u201cPick up the phone,\u201d he said, suggesting that the current U.S. administration sees its role as guiding, rather than leading, future peace enforcement.<\/p>\n
As the war grinds on and ceasefire discussions remain unresolved, Kellogg\u2019s proposal has laid bare the evolving contours of Trump\u2019s Ukraine strategy\u2014one that appears to blend geopolitical realism with the risk of legitimizing territorial conquest. Whether this approach accelerates peace or entrenches division remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine has suggested that Ukraine could be divided into zones of control reminiscent of post-World War II Berlin as part of a prospective ceasefire agreement<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":306782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[91,116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-306781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russia","category-ukraine"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=306781"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":306817,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306781\/revisions\/306817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/306782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=306781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=306781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=306781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}