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As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increasingly turned to artillery and aerial bombardment of cities, calls are growing louder for Western nations to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine to protect civilians and thwart the Russian advance.
The move would require a group of countries–potentially the U.S. and NATO allies—to declare that Russian military aircraft and missiles are no longer allowed in Ukrainian airspace.
Since Feb. 28, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pleaded with the U.S. and its allies for a no-fly zone. On Sunday he reported that the city of Vinnytsia was attacked by eight missiles from Russian troops. “We repeat every day: ‘Close the sky over Ukraine!’” the Ukrainian leader said. “Close it for all Russian missiles, Russian combat aircraft, for all these terrorists. Make a humanitarian air zone—without rockets, without air bombs.”
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Outside Ukraine, several military leaders and Western government officials have expressed support for at least considering the action. Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, told NBC News the option should not be taken “off the table.” The chair of the U.K. Parliament’s Defence Select Committee reiterated this, saying the world should not abandon Ukraine. A Reuters poll with Ipsos also found that 74% of Americans were in favor of an air exclusion zone over Ukraine.
However, NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a Cold War-era alliance that was established to oppose the Soviet Union) has ruled out such a move, warning that it could result in a “full-fledged war in Europe.” A no-fly zone would put U.S. and other NATO pilots in a position of shooting down Russian planes and helicopters, and likely firing on ground forces. Experts warn such action risks escalating the conflict dramatically—into cataclysmic nuclear war, at worst. The Pentagon has repeatedly dismissed…
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Source : time
