Here's Why Trump Can't End Ukraine Russia War /Lt Col Daniel Davis

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Lt Col Daniel Davis argues that President Trump’s failure to end the Russia–Ukraine war stems largely from flawed advice and misperceptions within his own team—especially from Keith Kellogg. Despite Trump’s repeated promises to end the war quickly after taking office in January 2025, there has been no progress toward a negotiated settlement nearly a year later.

An ITV News interview with Kellogg is presented as revealing the core problem: Kellogg deeply admires Ukrainian President Zelensky, even comparing him to Abraham Lincoln, and portrays him to Trump as a resolute, heroic leader. The speaker считает this comparison wildly inaccurate, arguing that Zelensky has made repeated catastrophic military and strategic decisions that ensured Ukraine’s defeat and squandered leverage for negotiations.

More critically, Kellogg is accused of viewing Russia entirely through an outdated Cold War lens. He openly distrusts Russia and believes Vladimir Putin aims to rebuild a Soviet-style empire. According to the speaker, this mindset prevents any serious diplomacy: if Kellogg assumes Putin is lying about his objectives, he will advise Trump to ignore Russian proposals entirely, making negotiations impossible.

The speaker contends that wars only end when there is at least minimal trust and a realistic understanding of the other side’s goals. He argues that Russia has been consistent since at least 2008 in stating its core objective—preventing NATO expansion into Ukraine and securing its western border—not conquering Europe. By misunderstanding Russia’s motivations and exaggerating its ambitions and capabilities, Kellogg allegedly misinforms Trump and blocks any viable path to ending the war.

In short, the war continues because Trump’s chief adviser on the issue romanticizes Ukrainian leadership, misreads battlefield realities, and interprets Russia through an obsolete Cold War framework that makes negotiation effectively impossible.