Zelensky and Kellogg Talk Air Defense, Weapons Production, Sanctions

July 11 ------ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Special Envoy for Ukraine, Lt. General (Ret.) Keith Kellogg met today in Rome ahead of the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) being held today. The URC seeks to attract private investment and business deals to raise the $500 billion that will be required to rebuild Ukraine after the war.

Zelensky thanked Kellogg fot the US participation in the conference and emphasized Ukraine’s full support for US President Donald Trump’s peace initiatives. The two reportedly discussed weapons supplies to Ukraine to strengthen their air defense, joint defense manufacturing, as well as increased sanctions against Russia. “Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Keith Kellogg paid special attention to maintaining sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation. In particular, the discussion included the Graham-Blumenthal bill, tightening sanctions on the energy and banking sectors, targeting the Russian shadow fleet, and secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian oil.”

Kellogg was appointed special envoy for Ukraine by US President Donald Trump in November 2024 following Trump’s election victory. Kyiv Post first reported that US President Donald Trump would be sending Kellogg to meet Zelensky ahead of the conference on July 7, amid confusion over the supply of US weapons to Ukraine. On July 2, the Pentagon abruptly announced it would temporarily withhold shipments of defensive aid, including Patriot missiles, due to concerns over diminishing US stockpiles.

Trump later said that US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did not notify the White House before deciding to halt weapons shipments to Ukraine. This is the third time that the supply of crucial weapons to Ukraine has been paused since Trump took office in January. Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin in his public comments. On Tuesday, in a televised cabinet meeting, Trump told reporters: “We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”

Kellogg has been a proponent of Kyiv and a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. On July 2, he wrote in a post on X. “We urge an immediate ceasefire and a move to trilateral talks to end the war. Russia cannot continue to stall for time while it bombs civilian targets in Ukraine.”

Source: kyivpost.com