Update: NATO doesn't appear to be budging on setting up a no-fly zone over Ukraine, and on Friday, Volodymyr Zelensky blasted this hesitancy in a scathing Facebook video, per the Hill and Axios. "All the people who will die starting from this day will also die because of you," he said. "Because of your weakness, because of your disunity." He addressed the argument that closing the skies would cause a direct war between Russia and other nations, calling that narrative "self-hypnosis" of "weak" and "underconfident" players. "Is this the NATO we wanted?" he asked. "Is this the alliance you were building? ... You will not be able to buy us off with liters of fuel for liters of our blood, shed for our common Europe, for our common freedom, for our common future." Zelensky did end his speech by thanking nations, including the US, that have provided military and other support. "That's why we do NOT feel alone," he said. Our original story from Friday follows:
President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the Western allies to establish a "no-fly zone" over much of Ukraine to put an end to the bombing. "If the West does this, Ukraine will defeat the aggressor with much less blood," he said. No-fly zones usually are put in place to keep out aircraft carrying troops or weapons, conducting surveillance, or mounting attacks, Axios reports. They have to be enforced, which can mean shooting down aircraft. That would escalate the situation instantly. "If NATO imposes it, and we shoot down even one Russian plane, we're at war with Russia," said Howard Stoffer, a professor at the University of New Haven.
NATO's chief made clear Friday that he doesn't see meeting Ukraine's request. "We understand the desperation," Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, "but we also believe that if we did that, we would end up with something that could lead to a full-fledged war in Europe, involving much more countries and much more suffering." NATO members, including the US, are supplying weapons to Ukraine but don't want to do anything that could give Russia cause to fire at them. And they don't want their troops involved. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that a no-fly zone could lead to the US shooting down planes and "a potential direct war with Russia."
story continues below
The US has established no-fly zones before, including in Libya in 2011 and Iraq in the 1990s, per Yahoo News—but never when a military as powerful as Russia's was involved. Nonetheless, a few members of Congress advocate the action. Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger said a no-fly zone would "give the heroic Ukrainians a fair fight." Republican Sen. Roger Wicker said it's justified on humanitarian grounds, as civilians are trying to get out of Ukraine safely. Americans should be clear on the risks, said Republican Sen. Marco Rubio. Enforcing a no-fly zone "means a willingness to shoot down Russian planes," he said. "And that would mean World War III." (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
