“We hear that it is necessary to establish a no-fly zone over the territory of Ukraine. But it is impossible to do this from the territory of Ukraine, it can only be done from the territory of neighboring countries,” Vladimir Putin said.
But any measure in this direction will be considered by Moscow “as participation in an armed conflict of any country”, the territory of which will be used to “create a threat to our military,” he added.
Criticism of Ukraine after the refusal of NATO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday sharply criticized NATO’s refusal to create a no-fly zone in Ukraine to neutralize Russia’s vastly superior air force. Western countries are refusing to comply with this difficult request on the grounds that it would entail a significant risk of direct conflict with Russia, whose soldiers have been invading Ukraine since February 24.
“There are attempts to destabilize society”
At the same time, Russia does not plan to introduce martial law, Vladimir Putin said in response to persistent rumors in this direction due to the conflict in Ukraine. “Martial law is introduced (…) in case of aggression, especially in regions where hostilities are taking place. We do not have such a situation, and I hope that she will not interfere, ”he said at the interrogation of employees of the Russian airline Aeroflot.
According to him, he continued in response to a question from one of his interlocutors, only professional soldiers and officers take part in Russian military operations in Ukraine, and the Kremlin does not plan to use conscripts from the contingent or reservists. Many rumors made the Russians fear mobilization and martial law. “There are attempts to destabilize society.”