Donald Trump has pushed back his deadline for ending the Russia-Ukraine war despite having vowed to end the conflict within ’24 hours’ of becoming president.
The US president-elect now aims to end the war against Ukraine within 100 days of his inauguration, Keith Kellogg, Trump’s choice for special Ukraine peace envoy, told Fox News on Wednesday.
‘This is a war that needs to end, and I think he can do it in the near term,’ Kellogg, 80, added, defining ‘near term’ as just over 14 weeks out from inauguration.
The comments come just a day after Trump revealed in a press conference that he would not launch peace talks until after he takes office on January 20.
This is despite having repeatedly pledged during his campaign to end the war as soon as he was elected.
‘People need to understand, he’s not trying to give something to Putin or to the Russians, he’s actually trying to save Ukraine and save their sovereignty,’ Kellogg said.
‘And he’s going to make sure that it’s equitable and it’s fair’.
The US diplomat praised the president-elect for his willingness to meet with Vladimir Putin and said the outgoing president Joe Biden’s ‘biggest mistake’ was his refusal to work with the Russian President.
Donald Trump vowed to end the Russia-Ukraine war within ’24 hours’ of becoming president but this has now changed to 100 days
Shortly after his triumph, Trump spoke with Zelensky via phone – a conversation characterised by the Ukrainian leader as ‘excellent’
An explosion of a drone after it hit an apartment building is seen in the sky during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 10, 2025
Britain, France and Germany have already vowed to support Ukraine ‘for as long as it takes’ and Zelensky is adamantly against relinquishing territory to Vladimir Putin
Kellogg assured Trump would aim to find a solution to end the conflict that would work for both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
‘I think they’re going to come to a solvable solution in the near term. … Let’s set it at 100 days,’ he said.
Kellogg did not go further into discussing details of any potential peace agreements that may be under consideration by the incoming administration.
After Trump’s election victory, many questioned what direction the Trump administration might take.
Shortly after his triumph, Trump spoke with Zelensky via phone – a conversation characterised by the Ukrainian leader as ‘excellent’.
But in September, the Republican’s running mate and now vice president-elect JD Vance offered former US Navy Seal Shawn Ryan an outline of how peace may be brought about in Ukraine under Trump.
‘What it probably looks like is something like the current line of demarcation between Russia and Ukraine becomes like a demilitarised zone, heavily fortified for the Russians don’t invade again,’ Vance told the former Seal on his podcast.
‘Ukraine remains an independent sovereign. Russia gets the guarantee of neutrality from Ukraine.
‘It does not join NATO and some other allied institutions. Germans and other nations have to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction,’ Vance added.
That telling, albeit vague, description of what a Trump-negotiated end to war in Ukraine could look like was subsequently echoed by a Wall Street Journal report that emerged days after the election.
Citing three sources ‘close to the president-elect’, the WSJ claimed Trump’s transition office is considering one proposal that would prevent Kyiv from joining NATO for at least 20 years in exchange for lucrative arms deals.
Keith Kellogg praised the president-elect for his willingness to meet with Vladimir Putin and said the outgoing president Joe Biden’s ‘biggest mistake’ was his refusal to work with the Russian President
Local people walk near damaged cars at the site of drone debris falling on a residential building, in Kyiv, Ukraine, January 10, 2025
In the meantime, the conflict would be halted by the implementation of a large demilitarised zone (DMZ) that would effectively freeze the fighting in place and force Kyiv to relinquish up to 20 per cent of its territory as part of an ‘800-mile DMZ’.
But the sources offered no insight into how such a buffer zone between Russia’s border and unoccupied Ukraine would be monitored or managed, other than to say it would not be staffed by American peacekeepers.
This suggested troops from other NATO nations, including the UK, would be tasked with manning the DMZ.
‘We can do training and other support but the barrel of the gun is going to be European… and we are not paying for it,’ one source was quoted as saying.
‘We are not sending American men and women to uphold peace in Ukraine… Get the Poles, Germans, British and French to do it.’
But several obstacles must be circumvented before the conflict can be frozen and a ceasefire introduced – starting with the evident lack of enthusiasm from those expected to agree to and uphold the proposal.
Days before Trump secured his election victory, Zelensky openly declared that making any concessions to Putin would be ‘unacceptable for Ukraine’ and ‘suicidal for Europe’.
In addition, Zelensky’s foremost European partners Britain, France and Germany have already vowed to support Ukraine’s armed forces in their fight against Moscow’s troops ‘for as long as it takes’.
