By COLlive reporter
Lt. General (Ret.) Keith Kellogg, the United States Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, met with a group of Chabad Shluchim who serve as rabbis around war-torn Ukraine.
Kellogg arrived in Kyiv on July 14 for a series of meetings with government and military officials as President Donald Trump takes a tougher stance against Russia. Trump recently said the US will renew the weapons supply to Ukraine.
Kellogg met the rabbis for a ceremony at Babyn Yar, the site of the massacre where tens of thousands of Kyiv’s Jews were murdered by the Nazis and their local collaborators.
He was welcomed by heads of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU), which unites 169 Jewish communities still under Ukrainian sovereignty, led by Chairman Rabbi Meir Stambler and Deputy Chairman Rabbi Rafael Rutman.
Attending were Chief Rabbi Moshe Azman, Kyiv Chief Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch, Rabbi Yechiel Levitansky of Sumy, Rabbi Shaul Horowitz of Vinnytsia, Rabbi Dan Zakuta of Kropyvnytskyi, Rabbi Yosef Segal of Poltava, Rabbi Sholom Gopin, and Rabbi Daniel Lanau of the “Simcha Chabad” community in Kyiv.
Also present was Andriy Yermak, the Jewish Chief of Staff to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
At the start of the gathering, Rabbi Rutman recited Tehillim. Rabbi Azman then blessed him on behalf of the participants and wished him success in bringing peace to the country.
“We told Mr. Kellogg that our meeting with him in this place — symbolizing the destruction of Kyiv’s Jewry — is the strongest proof of the vibrant Jewish life flourishing in Ukraine today,” Rabbi Stambler said.
“While the war destroyed communities in more than ten cities, we’ve built new communities in other cities, and existing ones have grown due to the influx of refugees. We receive full support from the central government in Kyiv and from local authorities throughout the country.”
According to participants, Kellogg said that he was in Ukraine for several days on behalf of President Trump, in order to “get a feel for the country” and convey his impressions back to Trump.
As part of that mission, he expressed a desire to hear the sentiments and experiences of Ukraine’s Jewish community—an integral part of the country’s social fabric for hundreds of years—and to understand their feelings firsthand.
“It’s important for the President to hear your views,” he reportedly said.
Kyiv’s Rabbi Markovitz commented: “Before the election, President Trump visited the resting place of the Rebbe—who was born and raised in Ukraine—to pray for victory. The Rebbe’s tremendous work began here, on Ukrainian soil, and continued when he moved to the United States, which he called ‘a kingdom of kindness.’ From there, his influence branched out and spread across the entire world.”
General Kellogg is an amazing person and asset to our country.