U.S. envoy praises Zelenskyy after Trump’s censure of the Ukrainian leader

U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg, right, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talk during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

KYIV, Ukraine — President Donald Trump’s envoy to Ukraine and Russia said on Friday that he had held “extensive and positive discussions” with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the three-year war with Russia and praised the Ukrainian leader as an “embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war.”

Retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg — who traveled to Kyiv on Wednesday and whose planned news conference with Zelenskyy on Thursday was changed at the last minute to a simple photo opportunity — struck a positive tone after what he said on the social platform X was “a long and intense day” of talks with Ukraine’s senior leadership.

His comments marked a departure from recent rebukes of Zelenskyy by Trump and other senior U.S. officials that appeared to indicate an abrupt deterioration of relations. Trump called Zelenskyy “a dictator without elections” and warned him that he’d “ better move fast ” to negotiate an end to the war or risk not having a nation to lead.

The possibility that vital U.S. military aid for Ukraine was in doubt darkened the mood in Kyiv as Ukrainian forces struggle to hold back Russia’s bigger army on the battlefield.

European governments, uneasy about being sidelined so far in talks between senior U.S. and Russian officials, have jumped to shore up Zelenskyy and at the same time avoid a breakdown in transatlantic relations.

Polish President Andrzej Duda, whose country has been a vocal supporter of neighboring Ukraine, said Zelenskyy phoned him on Friday. Duda said he told Zelenskyy “to remain committed to the course of calm and constructive cooperation” with Trump.

“We consistently believe there is no other way to stop the bloodshed and achieve lasting peace in Ukraine except with the support of the United States,” Duda said he also told Zelenskyy.

“I trust that goodwill and honesty form the foundation of the U.S. negotiation strategy,” Duda said on X. “I have no doubt that President Trump is guided by a deep sense of responsibility for global stability and peace.”

The European Union’s top defense official said Friday that the bloc plans to send a strong message of support to Ukraine next week with a new aid package to mark Monday’s third anniversary of the war.

EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said senior members of the bloc’s executive branch are weighing how, “in a very urgent way, to send a very strong message to Ukrainians and to the world that we are standing together with Ukraine.”

European policy commissioners, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other top EU officials are traveling to Kyiv on Monday.

Russia has pressed on with its invasion even as talks with the U.S. take place, striking civilian targets almost daily.

On Friday, Russian forces dropped three powerful glide bombs on Kostiantynivka, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, killing one man and injuring two others, regional Gov. Vadym Filashkin said.

Another Russian glide bomb damaged homes and injured five people in the northeastern Kharkiv region, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said.

The public quarrel between Trump and Zelenskyy began after Russia and the U.S. agreed Tuesday to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties. With that, and a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump abruptly reversed the three-year U.S. policy of isolating Russia.

Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said during a White House briefing on Thursday that the U.S. president is “obviously very frustrated” with Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy was unhappy that a U.S. team opened the talks without inviting him or European governments that have backed Kyiv.

When Trump claimed without evidence Zelenskyy was deeply unpopular in Ukraine and falsely suggested that Ukraine was to blame for the war, Zelenskyy said Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space,” suggesting he had been duped by Putin.

Illia Novikov, The Associated Press