Former Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie told Newsmax on Tuesday that the biggest obstacle in emerging Ukraine-Russia peace talks is the expectation that Kyiv should surrender territory the Russian military has repeatedly failed to seize — a concession he warned would expose the Ukrainian capital to future assault.
Appearing on "Wake Up America Early" with host Alex Kraemer, Wilkie explained that any land transfer would cost Ukraine far more than political pride.
"Looking at it as a military person … if the Ukrainians give that up, they give up masses of fortified positions," he said. "They give up the natural obstacles that exist between Russian forces and Kyiv itself. And that would open an open plain for Russia to return — and they would have a straight shot to the capital of Ukraine."
Wilkie said the latest draft peace framework, once a 28-point plan now whittled to 19 points, cannot move forward until both sides agree to halt hostilities.
"What has to happen first, regardless of the back and forth, is that there has to be a ceasefire," he said. "You have to stop shooting at each other in order to begin this process for real. And I don't see [Russian President Vladimir] Putin getting off his long-held desire to retake that region of Ukraine and use it as a final stepping stone to take the whole country."
Wilkie also addressed rising concern that Russia could test NATO's resolve as early as 2028. The problem, he argued, isn't American readiness — it's Europe's chronic refusal to invest in its own defenses.
"The Europeans need to step up and stop asking about what America can do for us," he said. "The combined strength of the British, French, and German armies — the world's fourth, fifth, and sixth largest economies — is smaller than the U.S. Army National Guard, which is 300,000 soldiers. That's how far gone European defenses are."
Wilkie said Eastern European nations understand the threat because they still remember life under Soviet domination, but Western Europe continues to lag dangerously behind.
"They better ramp them up quickly because the United States, unlike the Europeans, has global commitments," he warned.
He added, "I'm not worried about the nations of Eastern Europe. They know what it's like being under the hammer and sickle. They know what reality is. I am worried about the Europeans."
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