a war on two Kellogg faces fronts: the Ukraine conflict and Trump's mood swings

Donald Trump's whirligig presidency continues with sudden reversals of foreign policy and key diplomatic appointments.

- MARK ALMOND

Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general, had appeared “out” of Ukrainian affairs only a few days ago. Eight weeks ago, the government in Kyiv and many friends of Ukraine abroad had celebrated his appointment as the president’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia as a victory for a hardline stance against Vladimir Putin’s aggression.

Kellogg’s own public statements on Russian war guilt and his daughter Meaghan Mobbs’s very public role as a fundraiser for Ukraine led people to assume fears that Trump would “sell out” the country were misplaced.

But Kellogg was briefed against by the White House media team immediately after the Trump-Zelensky bust-up in the Oval Office. He had failed to join in the pile-on against the Ukrainian president. Kellogg was removed from his post. With the Kremlin against him too, it looked like the 81-year-old had reached the end of his long road of service to the US.