Zelensky: If NATO Won’t Impose No-Fly Zone, ‘Give me the Planes’

The US and NATO have ruled out imposing a no-fly zone

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made another plea to the US and NATO to impose a no-fly zone and said if the Western powers won’t do it, they should give Ukraine warplanes.

Both the US and NATO have ruled out the idea of establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine since it would put them in direct military conflict with Russia, something that could quickly spiral into nuclear war. But Zelensky continues to urge the Western powers to “shut the sky.”

“I say every day if you cannot shut the sky now, then give us the timeline when you will do it? If you now cannot provide the timeline, tell us how many people have to die?” Zelensky said at a press conference.

“Tell me how many. I’ll go to count and wait for this moment. I hope the sky will be shut down. If you don’t have strength and courage to do that, then give me the planes. Wouldn’t that be fair?” he added.

Ukrainian pilots are only trained to fly old Russian-made fighter jets. Earlier this week, the EU announced a plan to send warplanes to Ukraine, but it quickly fell apart as the three countries that have the older Russian planes — Poland, Bulgaria, and Slovakia — all denied that they are transferring them to the Ukrainians.

The US and its NATO allies continue to pour other weapons into Ukraine, including Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. According to media reports, the US delivered Stinger missiles to Ukraine for the first time over the past few days.

Since Ukraine’s airspace is no longer safe, the US and its allies have to deliver weapons through NATO countries that border Ukraine. According to a report in the Economist, Poland’s large border with Ukraine is one of the main routes. Hungary has said it won’t allow its territory to be used to transfer arms to Ukraine over fears that the deliveries could be targeted by Russia.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.