Exclusive | Trumps Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg speaks to wounded Ukrainian troops during emotional visit to military hospital

KYIV — US special envoy to the Ukraine war retired Gen.Keith Kellogg visited wounded Ukrainian soldiers Friday to thank them for their sacrifices, which he argued has “given us time” to figure out the “right” way to end Russia’s war on their nation.Kellogg, who previously served as a national security adviser to the vice president and chief of staff of the National Security Council in the first Trump administration, met with about 20 veterans of the nearly three-year-long war at Irpin Military Hospital just outside of Kyiv, some of whom have suffered life-altering injuries defending Ukraine from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces. “The biggest reason I wanted to come here was President Trump has said he wants to stop the killing, and you’ve got to go to the place where you see what killing looks like — what death looks like — and see young men and women who have been wounded in combat,” Kellogg told The Post.  “As a soldier, you owe them that respect,” he added.

“As a leader, you owe that respect.”Kellogg, 80, was joined by US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink at the medical facility, where Ukrainian troops with leg and arm amputations were receiving treatments and getting outfitted with prosthetics. The visit, which Kellogg described in X post as “emotional,” took place against the backdrop of tense negotiations between Trump administration and Ukrainian officials over access to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of mineral rights – which Washington sees as a vital step needed to move forward with peace negotiations, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government views it as a shakedown.  Kellogg’s stop at the military hospital, during which he fielded questions and held individual discussions with wounded soldiers, ingratiated the US to Zelensky and brought Ukrainian officials closer to agreeing to the rare earth mineral deal, sources familiar with the situation told The Post.One soldier Kello...