The United States’ special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, attended a ceremony in Kyiv on Sunday to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day.
“Today, President Trump’s special representative, General Keith Kellogg, is in Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced, standing alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and other Western officials.
During the celebration of Ukraine’s 34th year of independence, President Zelenskyy awarded Kellogg the Order of Merit in recognition of his contributions. “Together, Ukrainians and our partners are working to push Russia towards peace,” Zelenskyy stated during the event.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Western nations of “seeking pretexts to block peace negotiations” in an interview broadcast on the Russian state channel Rossiya and shared on Telegram.
Lavrov also criticised Zelenskyy’s approach to diplomacy, accusing him of being “stubborn” and setting preconditions for a direct meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Despite mediation efforts led by US President Donald Trump — including an August summit with Putin and subsequent meetings with Zelenskyy and European allies at the White House — a breakthrough remains elusive.
Both Moscow and Kyiv have blamed each other for stalling talks to arrange a potential meeting between their leaders.
