NATO Rejects No-fly Zone: Ukrainian President Calls Alliance Members 'hypnotized' By Russian Aggression, Fears A Third World War

Ilustrasi markas NATO. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Department of State)

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said several member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance were 'hypnotized' by Russian aggression, so that the application for a no-fly zone in their country's airspace failed to materialize.

Ukraine is known to intensely seek protection from NATO to implement a no-fly zone in its airspace, to protect Ukrainian citizens from bombing carried out by Russia.

President Zelensky noted that the most powerful security alliance, NATO, has questioned its credibility. He said some Alliance members were simply 'hypnotized' by the Russian aggression, worried about a possible start of a Third World War if they implemented a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

"We say that our skies need to be protected in the same way as Alliance skies, but we understand that there is always a 'but'. What would NATO's response to the Allies in Eastern Europe be if they had already sought cover? If, God forbid, Russian missiles and Russian aircraft arrived on their territory? Russia has attacked our Lviv region. Missile strike 20 kilometers from the NATO border. A Russian drone has crashed on Alliance territory," President Zelensky explained, launching Ukrinform March 16.

He also said Ukrainian authorities had offered international partners a way to protect Ukrainian airspace and their own people.

As previously reported, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that all allies agree that imposing a no-fly zone is tantamount to triggering a deeper conflict with Russia.

"If we do that, we will end up with something that could end in a full-fledged war in Europe, involving more countries and causing more human suffering," Stoltenberg said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Wikimedia Commons/Нацгвардія аїни)

Stoltenberg said all the allies had agreed to strengthen deterrence and defense on land, in the air and at sea. Allies from North America and Europe have sent thousands more troops to the east of the alliance.

"We will continue to do what is necessary to protect and defend every inch of NATO territory. NATO is a defensive alliance. Our core task is to keep our thirty countries safe. We are not part of this conflict. NATO is not seeking war with Russia," Stoltenberg said. .

Britain, the US and NATO have consistently rejected President Zelensky's calls for a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying it could cost them the downing of the Russian plane and possibly spark a new world war.

Prime Minister Johnson and the Ukrainian leader have had almost daily conversations in the 15 days since Russia invaded.

"We've had some very honest conversations and very disappointing conversations because there's a limit to where, frankly, Britain and NATO would be deemed to be in direct conflict with Russia," PM Johnson said, citing Sky News.

“It's torturous, really torturous. I've had this conversation at least a few times with (President) Volodymyr, but I think the difficulty is that I have to order RAF jets, British pilots into the air on a mission to shoot down Russian jets."