Russia-Ukraine war: What is a no-fly zone, which Zelensky is demanding

Posted on 8th Mar 2022 by rohit kumar

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appealed for the creation of a no-fly zone in Ukraine in several of his previous video posts.

 

In one of his appeals, he called for the complete collapse of the civil airport of Vinnytsia, a city southwest of Kyiv. Also posting a video on social media, he reiterated his appeal to world leaders to create a no-fly zone in Ukraine.

 

In this post, he had said that it is the human responsibility of world leaders to save people.

 

He had said, "If you do not do this and do not even give us fighter planes to protect yourself, then only one conclusion can be drawn and that is that you also want us to be killed gradually." ,

 

NATO countries have so far rejected the idea of ​​creating a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

 

On Monday, the President of Ukraine issued a statement saying that if the US and Western allies do their part, then his country can fully face and even defeat Ukraine, Russia's aggression.

 

Zelensky said in an interview to Axios News that the sanctions on Russia, with the intention, are going in the right direction.

 

He further said that the decision to remove many of Russia's banks from the SWIFT system, as well as the decision to supply more Stinger missiles, anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, are all in the right direction. In addition, we ask Western countries to impose no-fly zones over important parts of Ukraine.

 

In his statement, he had further said, "We can defeat aggression and we are proving this to the world too, but our allies also have to play their part."

 

However, Nato had officially rejected his request on Friday itself.

 

NATO rejects no-fly zone request

 

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stollenberg had earlier warned that if a no-fly zone was implemented, it would lead to a direct conflict between NATO countries with Russia. At the same time, the human tragedy caused by this will be very frightening.

 

At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin has also made it clear on his part that if any such action is taken, it will be taken as direct participation in the conflict.

 

Along with this, it has also been said on behalf of American officials in recent days that even President Joe Biden is not in favor of any such zone.

 

At the same time, the President of Ukraine, in response to a question, said that today the coalition leadership has given them (Russia) a green signal to bomb Ukraine's cities and towns by refusing to create a no-fly zone.

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized NATO for not declaring a no-fly zone, calling it a "weakness" and a "lack of unity".

 

But why are Western allies refusing to implement no-fly zones, despite openly supporting Ukraine, seeing the devastation in Ukraine?

 

What is a no-fly zone?

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with flight attendants of state-run airline Aeroflot that any country that imposed a no-fly zone on Ukraine would be considered involved in a war in Ukraine.

 

"We will consider any step taken in this direction as joining an armed rebellion in that country," the Russian president said.

 

Simply put, a no-fly zone defines a specific location where it is ensured that certain aircraft cannot take off.

 

It can be used to protect sensitive areas. Such as a royal residence, sports events, or some special and big events but this can often be implemented only temporarily.

 

In a military context, a no-fly zone means that no aircraft can enter that area to prevent an attack or surveillance. But it is enforced by the military so that an aircraft can be potentially downed.

 

As demanded by the President of Ukraine, the imposition of a no-fly zone would mean that military forces, especially NATO forces, would be able to directly target any Russian aircraft in that airspace, and if need be, you can destroy it.

 

Why are western countries dieting?

 

If NATO targets Russian aircraft and weapons, it will increase the chances of the war getting worse. This threatens to escalate the conflict.

 

NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg also said on Friday, "We believe that if we do this, it will call for a full-fledged conflict. In which many other countries will also be involved and a lot of human tragedy will also be horrific."

 

This is a big reason, due to which on the one hand Western countries and organizations are imposing sanctions on Russia one after the other but refraining from implementing the no-fly zone. They are not directly engaging NATO in the Ukraine-Russia war. Neither at ground level nor air level.

 

Also Read: Russia-Ukraine War: PM Modi spoke to the President of Ukraine for 35 minutes, thanked him for his efforts to evacuate Indians

 

"You don't just say 'it's a no-fly zone.'

 

General Breedlov served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander from 2013 to 2016. He believes that supporting Ukraine's demand for a no-fly zone would be a very serious decision not only for NATO but for the whole world.

 

To do so, he says, "is like directly inviting an all-out war."

 

Britain's Defense Secretary Ben Wallas has clarified that Britain does not support calls for a no-fly zone to be imposed on Ukraine because intercepting Russian aircraft means "war across Europe".

 

The US has also rejected the demand of the President of Ukraine, giving more or less similar reasons.

 

Apart from this, there is also a danger of increasing conflict with Russia in the form of nuclear weapons. This threat is also serious because Russian President Vladimir Putin has put the country's nuclear forces on a 'special alert'. The concern is being expressed all over the world by his move.

 

But analysts say Putin's move is probably to prevent any other country from joining his war with Ukraine. This should not be taken as a sign of willingness to use nuclear weapons.

 

But even a small sign of the outbreak of world war could raise the risk of a nuclear war, and imposing a no-fly zone on Ukraine could be planting the seeds for it.