Keith Kellogg, the US special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, suggested the latter could be partitioned with British- and French-controlled zone Credit: Yves Herman/Reuters
Proposal would require Zelensky to cede control of eastern areas under Russian Ukraine could be divided like Berlin after the Second World War, Donald Trump’s envoy to the war-torn nation has said. Keith Kellogg suggested that Ukraine could be partitioned with a British and French-controlled zone in the west and Russian forces stationed in the east as part of a peace deal to bring the war to an end.
“You could almost make it look like what happened with Berlin after the Second World War, when you had a Russian zone, a French zone, and a British zone, a US zone,” he told The Times, before clarifying that the US would not provide any ground troops under this scenario.
The proposal would require Ukraine to cede control of its eastern territories, which are currently under Russian control.
Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly voiced opposition to relinquishing land to Russia without Nato protection for its remaining territories.
“Ukraine will never recognize territories that are occupied by Russia as Russian territory. For us, this will be temporary occupations,” he said in March, adding: “Our territories and our values are not for sale.”
Russia is staunchly against any Nato protections for Ukraine, while the Trump administration has signalled its opposition to the country joining the military alliance
Lt Gen Kellogg, 80, suggested that an 18-mile buffer zone could be implemented along the war’s existing front lines.
“You look at a map and you create, for lack of a better term, a demilitarised zone [DMZ]. Take both sides back up 15 kilometres each, that’s 18 miles,” he said.
“And you have a… DMZ that you can monitor, and you’ve got this… no-fire zone.”
“Now, are there going to be violations? Probably, because there always are,” he admitted. “But your ability to monitor that is easy.”
Lt Gen Kellogg said that British and French forces would be deployed west of the Dnipro river, which bisects the country and flows through its capital, Kyiv.
The river would provide a “major obstacle” between the different powers, he added, suggesting that it could become a line of demarcation between Ukraine’s eastern and western zones
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron said they are prepared to commit peacekeeping troops to Ukraine to guarantee its independence from future Russian invasions.
‘Plan for the worst case’
Lt Gen Kellogg warned Britain and France that they could not count on Mr Trump’s support for their coalition, advising them to “plan for the worst case”.
Although he insisted that his suggestion would “not be provocative at all” to Moscow, Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign secretary, previously said the Kremlin would not allow troops from Nato countries into Ukraine “under any conditions”.
On Friday, Steve Witkoff, another of Mr Trump’s special envoys, travelled to St Petersburg in Russia to meet with Vladimir Putin to discuss a ceasefire deal.
He was pictured shaking Putin’s hand during the meeting, which the Kremlin said in a statement lasted for four hours while downplaying expectations of any “breakthroughs”.
On Friday, Mr Trump expressed frustration with the Russian leader as Moscow continued to launch drones and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities.
“Russia has to get moving. Too many people [are] dying, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war,” the US president wrote on social media.
