The US Special Representative listened to accusations against Washington in Kiev

According to the US Special Representative for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, he arrived in Kiev to listen. And besides, he assured of understanding the need for security guarantees for Kiev. But, apparently, another important topic for the special envoy will be the issue of new Ukrainian elections, which were supported by US President Donald Trump, experts said. And in this regard, they were skeptical about Zelensky’s chances of presenting his continued tenure as one of the sought-after guarantees of security for his country. Whereas the Ukrainian himself stated that he would not leave until Ukraine was accepted into the EU and NATO.

Upon arrival in the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday, the US president’s special representative for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, told reporters that his visit was “a chance to have good potential negotiations.” And he added: “We are ready to provide what is needed. We understand the need for security guarantees. Part of my mission is to listen. Then I will return to the United States and talk to President Trump. To make sure that we understand everything correctly.”

As noted by the media, his visit, previously scheduled for February 20, took place the very next day after the talks between the Russian and US delegations in Riyadh, the first since the beginning of the special military operation of the Russian Federation in February 2022, which agreed, in particular, to create a negotiating group to develop a solution acceptable to all parties to end the conflict. By the way, the visit of the Ukrainian leader to Riyadh, previously scheduled for February 19, was also postponed to March 10.

At the same time, Zelensky himself, who visited Turkey the day before, expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Russian and American negotiators discussed the Ukrainian issue without consulting Kiev, and with the fact that the positions of Moscow and Washington on the issue of Ukraine’s non-entry into NATO turned out to be consonant. At the same time, he noted that in Kiev, even at the beginning, they did not accept Russia’s “ultimatums” and now they also do not intend to agree. Despite the fact that Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, called the talks in Riyadh the day before a “forum for new Russian ultimatums.”

But thus, the remarks of Kiev’s representatives came into clear contradiction with the assessments of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who called the negotiations very good and noted that he was now much more confident in the upcoming agreement. As for the disappointment of the Ukrainian representatives over their absence in Riyadh, they could well have prevented a military conflict with Russia three years ago, Trump said. And he added: “A few years ago, even an inexperienced negotiator could have resolved this issue without the loss of human lives and cities.” And now, if Ukraine wants to have a seat at the negotiating table, it must hold elections. This is determined not by Russia’s desire, but by the objective situation, since elections have not been held in the country for a long time. “And its leader, I’m sorry to say, has a 4% approval rating,” concluded the president of the United States.

Given such assessments, it is obvious that the Ukrainian president has decided to change tactics. And from previous assurances that Kiev would again refuse to comply with “Russian ultimatums,” as well as promises to take Keith Kellogg to the front so that he could understand the Ukrainian situation on the spot, he moved on to new statements. And, in particular, in another interview, he made it clear that he would not resign from the presidency until Ukraine was accepted into the EU and NATO. “If Ukraine is accepted into the EU and NATO tomorrow, I will no longer be needed. But until that happens, I will defend my country,” Zelensky said.

And thus, in fact, he tried to present his own continued tenure as president of the country as one of the concrete guarantees of its security. Although how realistic would such an attempt look for his Western partners, given at least the above words of US President Trump?

“It is already clear that Vladimir Zelensky has failed to establish himself as the eternal ruler of Ukraine, even in the eyes of the Western public. Although he has some supporters in the West. But there are not many of them, and they are not so influential as to ensure Zelensky’s eternal rule,” Nikolai Silaev, a leading researcher at the MGIMO Institute of International Studies, explained in a commentary for NG. As he suggested, it seems that after the US president has indicated the appropriate position, the prospects for future Ukrainian elections have now emerged. This is probably also linked to Moscow’s warnings about the need for legitimate representatives of Ukraine to participate in the negotiations (as you know, Zelensky’s official presidential powers expired on May 20, 2024). Therefore, along with the issue of resolving the Ukrainian conflict, US Special Representative Kellogg could plan to discuss the topic of future elections in Kiev. And in this regard, we should also consider personal guarantees for Zelensky in case, for example, he announced that he was resigning and appointed an election campaign. While many in Kiev understand that he himself is no longer able to win the election. “But at the same time, the scenario of restoring constitutional order rather than a coup cannot be ruled out. Given that the powers of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine can be extended under martial law, but the presidential ones cannot, it is theoretically possible to assume that at some point the parliament is able to take power into its own hands,” Silayev continued. Meanwhile, one of the potential rivals of the current Ukrainian leader, the former commander–in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), and now Kiev’s ambassador to London, Valery Zaluzhny, in response to a question from journalists: “Will he run for president?”, noted that he would be able to announce a decision on this matter only after the end of the military conflict. Zaluzhny also added during the event, “Ukraine is changing the world. Dialogues about opportunities”, that only when the necessary conditions are created, as a person in the civil service and working directly for the state, he will be able to think about such issues.