Trump's envoy for Ukraine and Russia criticized the Christmas Day attacks ordered by Putin

Keith Kellogg, the president-elect's pick as special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, criticized the Russian missile and drone attack on Christmas Day, saying, "Christmas should be a time of peace, but Ukraine was brutally attacked on Christmas Day," Kellogg wrote Wednesday on X.

He added: "Launching large-scale missile and drone attacks on the day of the Lord's birth is wrong. The world is watching closely the actions of both sides. The United States is more determined than ever to bring peace to the region."

Kellogg's remarks came in the wake of Wednesday's Russian attack on Ukraine's energy supplies and infrastructure, which hit several cities and killed at least one person in Dnipropetrovsk, while at least six people were injured in Kharkiv.

Kellogg, who served on the president-elect's National Security Council during his first term, argued in a research report for the America First Policy Institute (AMFI) that U.S. military aid to Ukraine should be contingent on the country's willingness to engage in peace talks with Russia, The Hill reported.

Over the weekend, Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants a meeting as soon as possible about the war in Ukraine, CNBC reported. "President Putin said he wants to meet with me as soon as possible," he commented during Turning Point's AmericaFest convention. "So we have to wait, but we have to put an end to that war. That war is horrible, horrible."