Former Defense Department Undersecretary Robert Wilkie told Newsmax on Monday that questions surrounding Ukrainian kids kidnapped by Russian soldiers is an issue that must be handled if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agrees to a meaningful ceasefire.

Wilkie told “American Agenda” there’s currently a stalemate in effect. “So right now, I don’t see that either side has an incentive to stop. And also, Zelenskyy’s not going to stop until there’s an accounting for the tens of thousands of Ukrainian children that the Russians have grabbed, kidnapped and taken back into Russia.”

So far, said Wilkie, there’s not enough of a reason for Zelenskyy or Russian President Vladimir Putin to push for peace. “For Zelenskyy, Putin’s telling him he wants to wipe his country out. And for Zelenskyy, he hasn’t really lost a lot. He’s lost a couple of hundred square miles in three years.”

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