Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lashed NATO on Friday for ruling out a no-fly zone over his country saying the Western military alliance knew further Russian aggression was likely.
“Knowing that new strikes and casualties are inevitable, NATO deliberately decided not to close the sky over Ukraine,” he said in a video published by the presidency.
“Today the leadership of the alliance gave the green light for further bombing of Ukrainian cities and villages, refusing to make a no-fly zone.”
Earlier, Ukraine President Zelenskyy had appealed to Nato to set up a no-fly zone over Ukraine after Russia invaded the country by land, sea and air on February 24.
On Friday, US-led Nato rejected Ukraine’s call for help to protect its skies from Russian air strikes, unwilling to be dragged into the war in Eastern Europe.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said that Nato would defend “every inch” of members’ territory but emphasised the alliance was defensive.
Comments are closed.