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The White House said on Wednesday that it continues to oppose the creation of a no-fly zone over Ukraine as the country resists Russia, suggesting the move would have repercussions that would send the United States into World War III.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during an address to Congress on Wednesday, demanded that the United States agree to a no-fly zone over his country. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration “has no interest in getting involved in World War III.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki conducts a press briefing at the Brady White House Briefing in Washington, DC. March 16, 2022. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
Psaki said Biden watched Zelensky’s address to Congress from his personal library and found his remarks “passionate” and “powerful.”
WHITE HOUSE INSISTS NO-FLY ZONE OVER UKRAINE ‘COULD LEAD TO WAR WITH RUSSIA’
“We are in very close contact with the Ukrainians. Nothing he asked or said today came as a surprise in that sense. If we were President Zelensky, we would also ask for everything possible,” Psaki said. “He is watching his country and his people being attacked and mistreated by President Putin and the Russian military.”
“But how President Biden makes decisions is through the lens of our own national security, and as we said before, a no-fly zone would require that we would potentially shoot down Russian planes, NATO would shoot down Russian planes, and we are not interested in about getting involved in World War III.
Psaki also asked about Zelenskiy’s distinction between a “humanitarian no-fly zone” and a “complete no-fly zone” and asked if the administration considered the two to be the same.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers a virtual address to Congress via video link at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (Drew Angerer, Pool via AP)
“In the last couple of weeks there have been descriptions of both of them, and sometimes a humanitarian one – and I don’t want to put words in his mouth – but a humanitarian no-fly zone can be a specific geography or parts of Western Ukraine, while a no-fly zone that is sometimes called the whole country” “From our point of view and from the point of view of the military, there is no difference in terms of implementation and escalation of impact.”
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Tuesday Psaki said Biden “remains of the opinion that the no-fly zone will escalate” and “could provoke a war with Russia.”
Two dozen active and former military and intelligence officials have signed an open letter calling for the Biden administration to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
“We, the undersigned, call on the Biden administration, along with NATO allies, to implement a limited no-fly zone over Ukraine, starting with the protection of humanitarian corridors, which were agreed in talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials on Thursday,” the letter reads. , which Farkas and others signed. “NATO leaders must convey to Russian officials that they do not seek direct confrontation with Russian forces, but they must also make it clear that they will not approve of Russian attacks on civilian areas.”
Ukrainian officials have called on the international community to impose a no-fly zone over their country in the hope that it will prevent Russian aircraft from providing material support to their forces and stop bombing civilian areas.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki conducts a press briefing at the Brady White House Briefing in Washington, DC. March 16, 2022. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
Asked by Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich to discuss why the administration considers “MiGs provocative and Javelins and Stingers non-provocative,” Psaki said “aircraft are offensive weapons.”
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“Javelins and Stingers are defensive weapons,” Psaki said. “MiGs or aircraft are offensive weapons that are a different type of military system.”
Asked by Fox News on Wednesday, Biden said he considered Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal.”
“The president’s statements speak for themselves, he spoke from the bottom of his heart and based on what he saw on television,” Psaki said.
Lawrence Richard of Fox News contributed to this article.