image source,EPA
The Russian army launched air offensives on several locations in Ukraine for several days, but the Ukrainian army also claimed to have shot down some Russian aircraft.
“Ukrainians are desperately looking to the West for help to protect our skies. We are demanding a no-fly zone.” This is a Ukrainian woman who contradicted British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a news conference on Tuesday (March 1). Johnson) impassioned statement.
Daria Kaleniuk said: “Women and children in Ukraine are currently in deep fear because there are bombs and missiles falling from the sky.”
Even though the Russian airstrikes on Ukraine have affected residential buildings and the death toll of civilians has continued to pile up, there are few signs that the West intends to impose a no-fly zone. The following is one of the reasons.
Daria Kaleniuk (right) tearfully questioned British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a news conference in Warsaw.
What is the no-fly zone?
A no-fly zone is an area of air that is designated not to allow certain aircraft to fly. This could be used to protect sensitive areas, such as royal residences, or be implemented temporarily over them during sporting events and large gatherings.
On a military level, no-fly zones are designed to prevent aircraft from entering restricted airspace, usually to prevent attacks or reconnaissance.
And this must be carried out through military means. This could be reconnaissance, pre-emptively bombarding defenses, or ditching an aircraft that would enter a restricted area.
The imposition of a no-fly zone over Ukraine would mean that the armed forces — especially NATO forces — would confront any Russian aircraft if they spotted it in the airspace, opening fire if necessary.
Why won’t the West set up a “Ukrainian no-fly zone”?
There is a risk of rapid escalation of tensions behind NATO forces engaging Russian aircraft or aircraft head-on.
“You can’t just say ‘this is a no-fly zone,’ you have to enforce a no-fly zone,” Gen Philip Breedlove, a former U.S. Air Force general, told Foreign Policy. “
Admiral Breedlove served as the commander of NATO’s Supreme Allied Command Europe from 2013 to 2016. He said that while he supported a no-fly zone in Ukraine, it was a very serious decision.
“It’s tantamount to war. If we enact a no-fly zone, we’ll have to capture enemy troops to fire into the no-fly zone, affecting our ability to no-fly zone.”
image source,Reuters
In the city of Irpin, not far from Kyiv, a residential complex was severely damaged by artillery fire.
Tobias Ellwood MP, chairman of the House of Commons Defence Committee, also backed a full or partial flight ban, urging NATO to intervene given the suspicion of civilian casualties and war crimes.
But NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg ruled out NATO involvement. “We have no intention of being in Ukraine, whether on the ground or in the air,” he told NBC on Monday (February 28).
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK would not help enforce a no-fly zone in Ukraine, as a firefight with Russian fighter jets would trigger a “war across Europe”.
Wallace told BBC Radio 4’s Morning News Today, BBC Radio 4: “I’m not going to start a war in Europe, but I’m going to do everything I can to get armaments to Ukraine, using Use these armaments to help them hold on to every inch of land and money, and we will support them.”
The United States has also ruled out the establishment of a no-fly zone for similar reasons.
Many have interpreted Putin’s move as primarily a public signal rather than a real intentional use of such weapons.
Yet hints that a new world war will eventually turn into a nuclear war, even if vague, with the horrific images of civilian suffering, the chances of imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine are extremely slim.
Has the no-fly zone been used before?
After the First Gulf War in 1991, the United States and its allies established two no-fly zones in Iraq to avoid attacks on individual ethnic and religious groups, but this was not supported by the United Nations.
During the 1992 Balkan conflict, the United Nations passed a resolution banning any unauthorized military aircraft from entering Bosnian airspace.
Both Bosnia and Libya no-fly zones are enforced by NATO forces.