Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on Friday called NATO “weak” and “uncertain” for refusing to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine as his country struggles in “the worst invasion since World War II.”
In a Facebook video shared and translated by Axios on Friday, Zelensky said the Ukrainians fought fearlessly against the Russians invading their country – and will continue to do so – but were thrown into “nine days of darkness” without NATO help.
“Knowing that new strikes and casualties are inevitable, NATO has deliberately decided not to close the skies over Ukraine,” Zelensky said in an emotional video address.
The president called on NATO to think of “all those people who will die for you”.
“Because of your weakness, because of your disunity, all the alliance has managed to do so far is to transport fifty tons of diesel fuel to Ukraine,” he said. – Is this the union you built?
A no-fly zone introduced to ban enemy planes from flying into and attacking a region would cut off Russian air support and blunt the advance of Russian troops towards Kyiv.
The Biden administration, along with NATO’s security alliance, has so far rejected Ukraine’s calls for a no-fly zone, fearing it could spark a direct military confrontation between the United States and Russia.
“This will essentially require the US military to shoot down Russian planes and provoke a potential direct war with Russia, the exact step we want to avoid,” said spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Jen PsakiOn Money – Pressure to block Russian imports hits wall The night Energy and Environment – White House says no to oil ban in Russia Here are Russians sanctioned by the United States, the ILO told reporters on Thursday.
In a video address, Zelensky challenged the fact that this would lead to a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia, calling it “self-hypnosis.”
“I don’t know how you can defend and whether you can defend NATO countries,” Zelenski said. “You will not be able to buy us back in liters of fuel for liters of our blood.”
NATO is strongly opposed to the outbreak of a large-scale war in Europe.
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that “the only way to introduce a no-fly zone is to send NATO fighter jets into Ukrainian airspace and then impose that no-fly zone by shooting down Russian planes.”
“We understand despair, but we also believe that if we do, we will end up with something that could end in a full-fledged war in Europe,” he said.