NATO rules out no-fly zone over Ukraine

According to EURACTIV, NATO foreign ministers said they would not set up a no-fly zone over Ukraine or involve their troops in any intervention there, but promised other aid to Kyiv.

“Allies agree we should not have NATO planes operating in Ukrainian airspace or NATO troops on Ukraine’s territory,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said after the meeting.

Ukraine has repeatedly called for Western partners to implement a no-fly zone to reduce the Russian military’s ability to attack Ukrainian targets from the air.

In a video message earlier on Friday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said NATO foreign ministers should not allow Putin to “turn Ukraine into Syria,” in reference to the devastating Russia-backed campaign against rebel cities in that country.

“Act now before it’s too late,” he said in the message.

The plea came also as a Russian attack on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest such installation in Europe, raised fears of wider implications of a further Russian advance.

NATO members have sent weapons to Ukraine, but are unlikely to move anywhere close to military action.

Establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine could result in the war triggering a broader conflict and potentially risk spreading it to more European countries, Stoltenberg said, rejecting demands from Kyiv to enforce such a zone.

“The only way to implement a no-fly zone is to send NATO planes, fighter planes, into Ukrainian airspace, and then impose that no-fly zone by shooting down Russian planes,” Stoltenberg said.

“If we did that, we’ll end up with something that could end in a full-fledged war in Europe involving many more countries and causing much more human suffering,” he said.

Security officials contacted by EURACTIV unanimously said they don’t see the option of a no-fly zone materializing ‘under any circumstances’, since any type of incident with an alliance member’s plane would almost certainty trigger NATO’s Article 5, the mutual defence clause.

“So that is the reason why we made this painful decision to impose heavy sanctions, provide significant support, stepping up support, but at the same time not involving NATO forces directly in the conflict in Ukraine,” Stoltenberg added.

Stoltenberg said Russia’s war in Ukraine was “horrific” and repeated calls on Russia to end the war and withdraw its forces.