Zonal division in Ukraine? Contradictory positions from US officials

US President Donald Trump’s special representative for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, suggested in an interview with the UK’s The Times that multiple control zones could be created in Ukraine if a ceasefire is achieved.

“It would resemble post-WWII Berlin: Russian, French, British, and American zones,” said General Kellogg.

What does this proposal mean?

According to Kellogg:

• British and French troops, alongside the Ukrainian army, would serve as support forces in Western Ukraine and up to the Dnipro River;
  
• Northern and eastern Ukrainian regions — Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia — remain under Ukrainian control;
  
• Russian-occupied regions stay under Russian control;
  
• A 30-kilometer demilitarized zone is created along the existing front line.
  

Kellogg emphasized: “Ukraine is large enough to host multiple armies and sustain logistics.”

Is Zelensky in agreement?

No. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has firmly rejected any territorial concessions. Russia, meanwhile, demands full control over Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia and that Ukraine drop its NATO aspirations.

What did Steve Witkoff say?

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told Trump: “The fastest way to end the war is to hand over the four regions annexed by Russia in 2022.”

Witkoff voiced this idea after a meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Putin’s special envoy in Washington.

Kellogg vs. Witkoff and growing divisions in Trump’s team

During his meeting with Trump, Kellogg opposed Witkoff’s stance. He argued:

Ukraine might accept certain conditions, but would never fully and unilaterally give up those regions to Russia.

According to The Times and Reuters:

• Kellogg’s plan was criticized as “the breakup of Ukraine”;
  
• Kellogg denied this, explaining it was about zones of responsibility, not partition.
  

There are also growing divisions within Trump’s camp:

• Witkoff is seen as pro-Russian,
  
• while Kellogg is regarded as a strong advocate for Ukraine’s sovereignty.
  

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