Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed NATO as “weak” for ruling out the idea of imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which would put the military alliance in a direct conflict with Russia.
Enforcing the no-fly zone would require NATO planes to shoot down Russian ones and take out Russia’s air defenses. Direct fighting between NATO and Russia could quickly escalate into a nuclear war, but Zelensky and some hawks in Washington continue to call for a no-fly zone.
Following a summit in Brussels on Friday, NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg reiterated his position that the military alliance won’t enter Ukraine to fight Russia. “We are not part of this conflict,” he said. “We have a responsibility as NATO allies to prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine because that would be even more dangerous, more devastating and would cause even more human suffering.”
Stoltenberg’s reasoning wasn’t good enough for Zelensky, who ripped into NATO. “Today there was a NATO summit, a weak summit, a confused summit, a summit where it was clear that not everyone considers the battle for Europe’s freedom to be the number one goal,” he said.
“All the people who will die starting from this day will also die because of you. Because of your weakness, because of your disunity,” Zelensky added.
The US has also ruled out the idea of NATO enforcing a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Brussels on Friday and said a NATO-imposed no-fly zone “could lead to a full-fledged war in Europe.”
While ruling out a no-fly zone, the US and NATO are still risking provoking a conflict with Russia by flooding Ukraine with weapons. The US is also sharing intelligence with Ukraine to help them fight against Russia.
Zelenzkjj….what an embarrassing joke as president of Ukraine
a comedian.. .a clown….
“When small men cast long shadows the sun is about to set.”
Very nicely said!
Thats what you get with a US puppet leader .
Dead right but he is Americas clown.
The advantage to the US and NATO both ruling out no-fly zones is that it would appear they are limiting their intervention to the supposed 16-20,000 “volunteers” – read: Academi and Dyncorp mercenaries – who are being set up to go to Ukraine with Western supplied weapons.
The morons in the CIA who came up with this “Ukrainian quagmire” plan apparently forgot that Russia was in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Syria. In other words, “been there, done that – learned from it” (unlike the US.) They have more than enough experience in dealing with insurgencies. They also have undoubtedly game-planned this option from the West in advance. Which means they have a plan to counter it.
Of course, the Chechens are part of that plan, since they are supposedly experts in hunting down terrorists and then dealing with them in a back alley. Add Russia’s excellent C4ISR capabilities, and these mercenaries can expect to come home in body bags – assuming their bodies are ever actually found.
Since this “quagmire” plan is utterly doomed to fail, this means we may have avoided WWIII at least temporarily. What the US and NATO will do once this plan fails is another matter.
“Which means they have a plan to counter it.”
Everyone has a plan until he gets punched in the face. — Mike Tyson
That’s funny and clever.
Yep.
However, in this case, Putin is Tyson.
As some once said, “a Russian doesn’t go to take a dump without a plan.”
I think I heard that in a movie as well…
Another trite response. How unexpected.
I would not mind if Russia punches those Nazis in the face. We have coddled them, and this is the result. Zelenski has for a while been riding the back of a tiger. He is hanging on for deer life. If Russians do not get him, Nazi tiger brigades will.
BBC reporting here in Britain has conveniently left out any mention of Neo Nazis and Ukraine
Very well said and I very much agree… In answer to your very last statement: they are bound to come up with something, undoubtedly unpleasant…
“…the battle for Europe’s freedom to be the number one goal ….”
One has to wonder if this was the line his CIA handlers fed him when they recruited, auditioned and caste him for “patsy”? He sounds like a le Carre character left out in the cold. And if he keeps it up with the trash talking, they may leave him out there.
Very well said and I very much agree… In answer to your very last statement: they are bound to come up with something, undoubtedly unpleasant…
It would begin as an air-war over Ukraine and quickly spill over into Russia. There is no assurance that we, even with the aid of other NATO forces, would win an only air-war.
There is an ominous example: Hitler’s air attack on England.
Likely Spill over into Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania plus a host of other countries.
If Zelensky comes to America he could find a home in the Republican party.
Hell, he could become a U.S. Senator or even President!
Is he in his late 70’s? We have set an ugly precedence by hiring a guy who Wal Mart wouldn’t hire as a greeter.
Either party – it was Democrat Biden who oversaw the 2014 coup.
Yes. I thought about that after I posted my comment. But Zelensky talking about NATO weakness reminds me of Republican lawmakers.
Yes. I thought about that after I posted my comment. But Zelensky talking about NATO weakness reminds me of Republican lawmakers.
Let him ride the back seat of the first aircraft to patrol the skies, and face a SU-57.
NATO acknowledges the no-fly zone imposed by Russia.
NATO doesn’t have enough air defense batteries locally to cover Ukraine, though they could obviously send more.
Russia would destroy most of them fairly quickly if they had to.
Theoretically.
Russia seems very ill-prepared for this war, and Putin himself, psychologically unprepared.
PCR seems to have the most lucid take on Biden’s Ukraine war.
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2022/03/05/ukrainian-update-5/
Putin seems to be counting on the Ukrainians themselves rising up and helping Russia.
Putin isn’t the monster the media has painted him out to be. He does have a heart, but he needs to listen to his brain and the Chechnyan General. You can’t win a war with one hand tied behind your back.
No, Putin is not a monster; the threat of Ukraine getting nukes combined with US biological weapons research in Ukraine are strong motivators for war.
https://www.naturalnews.com/2022-03-02-pentagon-bioweapons-labs-ukraine-gain-function-plandemic.html
https://southfront.org/russian-military-operation-prevented-launch-of-u-s-bio-laboratories-in-ukraine-kiev-hiding-evidence/
Unfortunately he’s no master propagandist either; truth is a powerful weapon, but still takes great skill to use.
What helps makes war more moral is not empty virtue signaling – telling soldiers not to be killers – its having a plan that minimizes their need to be killers.
Now Russian forces will have to go in on the ground and fight extremist Kiev PMUs house to house and street by street from Kharkiv to Mariupol. That’s a waste. Civilians will still die to neo-Nazis who should have died instantly in their bunks in a late night bombing run.
And, spring is near – soon Ukraine will be a field of mud.
Putin so far has been careful with the legalities of war. His actions are Article 51 plausible, contrary to NATO propaganda, and more legal than any R2P NATO war.
There’s no excuse for not bombing every neo-Nazi and IS PMU National Guard and Interior Ministry barracks and arms depot into craters the first day of war.
They were more strategically important than AFU infrastructure – which is also still target-rich plinking on the 9th day.
NATO and the US were leading calls for a UN General Assembly to condemn Biden’s war, but Russian diplomats should have been leading the charge on Ukraine’s nuke threat and Ukraine-US bioweapons research.
I’d love to see citations for most of your assertions. In reality, the plan is progressing very well. The only thing Putin might not have anticipated was sanctions on the Central Bank – which has never been done before on a G20 nation. However, according to a number of people Russia should be able to adapt to that. Militarily nothing has significantly gone wrong and the war should be pretty much over by end of the month.
… Why would Putin not expect the Iran treatment?
Biden only promised ‘never before seen’ sanctions.
… The end of the month? Really? And your sources and expertise are?
Spring will begin to arrive towards the end of the month. Ukraine will likely be a sea of mud from the end of March throughout April.
A real Shock and Awe campaign on the Syrian model, would likely have ended this war in two or three weeks.
… Nothing significant has gone wrong?
The AFU is motivated to fight back, Azov has taken Kharkiv and Mariupol hostage with all their personnel and equipment essentially intact. They interpret Russia’s soft hand as weakness and opportunity.
The Russian economy has been smashed by sanctions; no economy, no war is the general rule.
Kherson fell, but was probably not expecting strong assault from Crimea. Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear areas have been secured.
Those are is the only plausible success claims. No other major Ukrainian city other than Mariupol is enveloped.
…. And apparently a super convoy of Russian materiale is still stalled north of Kiev??
… Why would Putin not expect the Iran treatment?
Biden only promised ‘never before seen’ sanctions.
… The end of the month? Really? And your sources and expertise are?
Spring will begin to arrive towards the end of the month. Ukraine will likely be a sea of mud from the end of March throughout April.
A real Shock and Awe campaign on the Syrian model, would likely have ended this war in two or three weeks.
… Nothing significant has gone wrong?
The AFU is motivated to fight back, Azov has taken Kharkiv and Mariupol hostage with all their personnel and equipment essentially intact. They interpret Russia’s soft hand as weakness and opportunity.
The Russian economy has been smashed by sanctions; no economy, no war is the general rule.
Kherson fell, but was probably not expecting strong assault from Crimea. Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear areas have been secured.
Those are is the only plausible success claims. No other major Ukrainian city other than Mariupol is enveloped.
…. And apparently a super convoy of Russian materiale is still stalled north of Kiev??
None of your speculations on this are accurate.
My positions are accurate. You fail to explain real events, and for some reason you assume a privileged insider attitude.
Even my belief that Russia would not invade based on Russia not being ready to invade – especially lacking a shock and awe air power buildup – was simply the wrong conclusion drawn from accurate observations.
Russia clearly was not ready to invade. They likely did not plan to invade beyond the level of a planning exercise.
Then they went in unprepared, fearing hypothetical – but very plausible – Ukraine nuclear weapons and apparent US biological warfare labs located throughout Ukraine.
NATO was sure Russia would invade, even setting dates, because they controlled the release of triggering information.
The US and Canada withdrawing their military advisors the same week as Ukraine expressing nuclear ambitions, raised the door of the trap.
Russia could not go in if NATO troops were present. Neither side dares risk contact in anger. When NATO trainers left ‘fearing’ Russian invasion, a window of opportunity appears.
However if Russia sought a diplomatic solution, NATO could send troops back in – and never take them out. The obvious bait window would close, likely forever.
Russia could be stuck with a maybe nuclear Ukraine within a decade or two, and mercilessly trolled over the possibility no matter what. Not to mention plagued by whatever was being cooked in those biowarfare labs, at any time.
So, Putin made the decision to go in and try and win hearts and minds with tanks – a dumb thing to do but perhaps predictable within his psyche profile, including belief that Ukrainians are Russians at heart.
And now he’s stuck with a real war having squandered Shock and Awe, far more at the mercy of the Ukrainians than he should be. Ukraine is a big country. Distance kills infantry.
Ukrainian civvies are not worldly-smart enough or brave enough to rise up against NATO and rejoin Russia. Enough will shoot back because no-one likes a gun pointed at their head, even if there’s a flower in the barrel and they initially did not mind Russians.
That’s the reality anyone can safely speculate on.
Note to Zelensky – a no-fly zone already exists over Ukraine. After 8 years of warfare, finally the Ukrainians have a chance for peace.
You mean the Russian-speaking Ukraine citizens in the Donbas….15,000 dead later.
Indeed after 8 years of war, finally there appears a glimmer of hope that peace can return to the area. The Peacekeeping mission seems to be nearly complete, maybe another week or so. The no fly zone implemented starting 24.Feb has been a big help in creating conditions for peaceful implementation of UNSC 2202
Well, staving off a larger war sounds good (especially a nuclear war) but with NATO things are subject to change rather quickly. We’ll have to wait and see how long they maintain this posture…
Correct.
The “Z-Man” needs to make some new friends…
Quoting Caitlin Johnstone:
Is Ukraine really worth a nuclear war?
That is a very sound question…
is it worth any kind of war?
Here is a man telling NATO what to do.
In order to establish a no fly zone, NATO would have to destroy Russia’s no fly zone. Meaning destroying radars, missile batteries inside Russia, on Crimea and waships in the Black Sea. That is war.
Having squandered the opportunity to negotiate a settement — now is the time to get serious.
Perhaps the cost of gas will sober us
Zelensky was the Nato/Neocon patsy. I can’t but wonder how he allowed himself to be so thoroughly “played”. He’ll be lucky to live through this.
Is there any chance the world — by which I mean the regular people — will eventually see through this? The internet’s diversity of voices must surely make US/NATO narrative “leaky”.
For instance, this Indian news channel is absolutely “nuking” the US/NATO bullsh*t.
Here is an actor playing president of a country. He speaks loudly because he was assured immunity and a glorious political future. What no one told him was that there are no directors yelling cut!
Zelensky is performing his comedy show
There was some idiot from the British Militray on the BBC telling that useless good for nothing rayworth how great NATO is bragging about 3 million under arms the greatest military alliences the world had ever seen blah blah blah , Rayworth should have asked if it is that great what happend in AFGHANISTAN and shot him down but being tha BBC mouth piece reading from a script whatdo you expect.
Zelensky: Just walk away. You have already made Billions. Enjoy it unless you have pissed all your money away like the Clintons did.
Zelensky is sounding more and more desperate each day for someone to come save him. True or not, I’ve see article purporting that Z-man is already in Poland and is ‘phoning in’ his press conferences and such from there; and I’ve see article indicating that Western leaders are eyeing the Ukrainian succession process ‘just in case’ something should happen to Zelensky. What this tells me- at least in the ‘getting a sneaky feeling’ category- is that something IS about to happen to Zelensky; no doubt it will be an assassination attributed to Putin, but I have no doubt if this happens the finger pulling the trigger will do so on Western orders.
It just shows you what a useless idiot Zelensky is , he actually thinks the Russians will stop flying fighters over Ukraine if the US puts a no fly zone in place which Russia will just ignore , it hasn`t entered his sponge like brain if a Russian air craft is shot down by NATO WW3 will follow.