Former defense official Robert Wilkie said on Newsmax Saturday that Vladimir Putin’s escalating attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are a sign of military weakness, not strength, and that he is resorting to civilian-targeted pressure ahead of winter.
Robert Wilkie, former undersecretary of defense and former secretary of Veterans Affairs, told “Saturday Agenda” that Russian President Vladimir Putin is turning to infrastructure attacks because his army has failed to secure battlefield success despite months of promised successful offensives.
Wilkie said President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed Ukraine’s air defense needs during their recent meeting.
“I think what Ukraine really needs is air defense systems; they need about 25 patriots. They’re getting some from Israel, some from Denmark, and I think Holland is chipping in.
“The president talked with Zelenskyy about exchanging Tomahawks for drones.” Wilkie added.
Wilkie said Putin’s turn to striking Ukraine’s energy grid reflects desperation, not dominance.
“That’s what Putin’s been doing to the Ukrainians,” Wilkie asserted.
“He’s been attacking their electric grid because he’s had absolutely no success on the battlefield … with his much-heralded summer offensive.”
Wilkie said Ukraine should mirror that pressure.
“If I’m in the Ukrainian general staff, what I want to do is keep up the assaults on Putin’s energy infrastructure, to remind the Russian people that there is a Russian winter and that they could get cold.”
Asked whether the U.S. should move now to provide Tomahawk missiles, Wilkie said the threat alone has already forced movement from Moscow.
“Well, I think the mere threat of the Tomahawks forced that phone call between Putin and our president.
“Look, every red line Putin has drawn in the last two or three years has been a mirage. He fears this.”
Wilkie added that Putin’s warnings about escalation if Tomahawks are provided are hollow.
“It is comical to me, looking at it from the perspective of the armed forces, that Putin is saying, ‘Don’t Escalate.’ Well, he’s attacking civilians and hospitals, he just took out a school, and I believe he just took out a farmers market.”
Wilkie added that Trump maintains tools to ratchet up pressure if Putin refuses to budge.
“The president has the arrows in his quiver, and I think the sanctions will get tougher and I do think if Putin does not listen to the president, the president will open the spigots.”
“Putin has shown no inclination that he wants to stop this. He’s rebuffed President Trump three times when the president has offered ceasefires.”
Citing British military intelligence, Wilkie said Russia’s losses are staggering.
“He’s lost almost 1.3 million casualties; he’s lost almost ten times as many as we had in ten years of Vietnam.”
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