Russia warned about the consequences of the introduction of a no-fly zone over Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the creation of a NATO no-fly zone over Ukraine will be considered by Moscow as "participation in an armed conflict." Earlier, NATO refused to close the airspace over the country. With such a request, the official Kiev addressed the alliance. "Newspaper.Ru" figured out why Ukraine asked to close the sky and what this refusal means.
Russia will consider the decision of any country to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine as participation in an armed conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"Now we hear that it is necessary to make a no-fly zone over the territory of Ukraine. It is impossible to do this on the territory of Ukraine itself, it is possible only from the territory of some neighboring states. But any movement in this direction will be considered by us as participation in the armed conflict of the country from whose territory threats to our servicemen will be created," Putin said at a meeting with women flight crew of Russian airlines.
The day before, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky called NATO's refusal to close the skies over the country "conscious". He posted a video with the corresponding statement on March 5 on his Instagram.
"The NATO summit took place. Weak summit, confused. The summit, which shows that not everyone considers the struggle for freedom to be the most important goal for Europe. The fact that NATO can protect someone, including the countries of the alliance themselves. I do not know who you can protect and whether you are able to protect your alliance countries. You will not be able to buy off liters of fuel from us for liters of our blood shed for our common Europe, common freedom, common future," Zelensky said.
In turn, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba said about the disappointment of the country's authorities in the leadership of the North Atlantic Alliance.
"Ukrainians should clearly and honestly see that NATO is not really what Ukrainians imagined it to be, at least now. We must honestly say that Ukrainians are disappointed in NATO today. You can say a thousand times, as NATO members do, that they will fight desperately for every inch of their land and for strengthening the eastern flank of NATO, but when they do not approve of any practical solutions, Russia sees that these are all words. And she understands that NATO feels fear," Kuleba added.
Kiev believed that the decision to close the airspace by NATO blocked the possibility of using Russian military aviation. To do this, it would be necessary to deploy NATO air defense systems on the territory of Ukraine, since they will not work effectively from neighboring Poland and Romania, as well as use alliance fighter aircraft in the skies of Ukraine.
Brussels refused such a decision, and the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, said that "the creation of a no-fly zone over Ukraine threatens a military conflict between the United States and Russia."
"President Volodymyr Zelensky requested the creation of a no-fly zone over Ukraine from NATO for a number of reasons, including the almost complete absence of its own air defense and air force assets. It is important to note that the once powerful Ukrainian air defenses, inferior in numbers in Europe in 1991 only to Russia, fell into disrepair even before February 24, 2022. A lot was sold, and the combat readiness of the remaining divisions of the S-300P, S-300V, Buk-M1 air defense systems was questionable due to the lack of modernization," he told the newspaper.En" retired Air Force Major General, military sniper pilot Valery Nechiporenko.
According to Nechiporenko, in case of loss of control over the airspace, the country is doomed to defeat and "the only question is the timing." "Modern warfare is not conducted in conditions where there is no control over the sky. It's always a loss. Yugoslavia showed it, Iran showed it," the general believes.
Military pilot, reserve Colonel Vladimir Talanov explained "To the Newspaper.En "that the question of a possible attempt to close the airspace of Ukraine by NATO "represents a multiple increase in the stakes, since a positive solution to this issue will inevitably lead to a clash of NATO and Russian combat aircraft."
"President Zelensky is absolutely right. NATO was scared. The closure of airspace on both sides is a conflict. Accordingly, any NATO aircraft somewhere over Lviv may be subjected to a Russian attack.
- Talanov thinks.
Political scientist, military expert Valery Volkov believes that Europe and the United States are now most afraid of the escalation of the conflict and its going beyond Ukraine.
"Watch CNN and the BBC. There is a terrible fear about a possible Third World War in every story and commentary. For the West, any scenario in Ukraine is acceptable and acceptable. Except for one thing - the transition to an open military clash with Russia. Sanctions can be pressed and threatened. A military conflict with Moscow is a taboo in any form. Therefore, they refused Ukraine in the sky. Europeans and Americans value their lives very much," Volkov concluded.
Victor Sokirko