No-fly zone in Ukraine | President Zelensky regrets NATO’s “deliberate” refusal

(Brussels) NATO allies on Friday rejected Kyiv’s request to create a no-fly zone in Ukraine and are considering new sanctions against Russia to force it to stop the war. The Ukrainian president expressed regret at this decision, which gives “the green light to the continuation of the bombardments” denouncing a form of “self-hypnosis” of the members of the Alliance.

“Today the Alliance leadership gave the green light to continue bombing Ukrainian towns and villages, refusing to establish a no-fly zone,” he said in a video. published by the Ukrainian Presidency.

“We believe that NATO countries themselves created a narrative that a no-fly zone over Ukraine would provoke direct Russian aggression against NATO,” he said. he continued.

“It’s a process of self-hypnosis for those who are weak, in inner insecurity, while they have weapons much more powerful than ours,” added the Ukrainian president.

NATO members on Friday rejected Kyiv’s request to create a no-fly zone in Ukraine to avoid becoming embroiled in the conflict.

“The issue was raised and the Allies agreed that we should not have NATO aircraft operating in Ukrainian airspace or NATO troops on the ground because we could end up with an all-out war in Europe,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

But Mr. Zelensky called this NATO meeting “weak” and “confusing”.

“What did you think during this meeting? All those people who are going to die starting today are also going to die because of you. Because of your weakness, because of your disconnection. »

EU stands ready to adopt new sanctions

The EU stands ready to adopt “severe new sanctions if Putin does not stop the war he started”, assured the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell has not ruled out decisions on gas and oil purchases from the EU which allow Moscow to finance its war effort.

“Everything is on the table,” he said. European energy purchases from Russia are valued at nearly 700 million euros per day.

The Allies, on the other hand, rejected Kyiv’s request to establish a no-fly zone in Ukraine to avoid becoming involved in the conflict.

“The issue was raised and the Allies agreed that we should not have NATO aircraft operating in Ukrainian airspace or NATO troops on the ground because we could end up with an all-out war in Europe,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

On the ninth day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba called on allies to act “now, before it’s too late”.

“The only way to implement a no-fly zone is to send NATO fighter jets into Ukrainian airspace and then shoot down Russian jets to enforce it,” he said. explained Mr. Stoltenberg.

“We have a responsibility to prevent the escalation of this war beyond Ukraine. Because it would be even more dangerous, more devastating, and cause even more human suffering,” he said.

“The coming days will be worse, with more deaths, more destruction, because Russia will use heavier weapons,” he warned.

“Russia uses cluster bombs and we have information about the use of other types of weapons in violation of international law”, he accused, adding that “information is collected within the framework of the investigation opened by the International Criminal Court.

NATO has reinforced its defenses in the East with the deployment for the first time of its rapid reaction force, the dispatch of thousands of Alliance troops to the countries of the eastern flank, the placing on alert of more than 130 combat aircraft and more than 200 ships at sea.

“This is NATO’s immediate response and it will be reinforced if necessary”, assured the Secretary General of the Alliance, adding that a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers was convened on 16 March to “take the necessary decisions”.

A discussion will also begin on the posture of deterrence and defense in the longer term, he said, a subject on the agenda of the NATO summit on June 29 and 30 in Madrid.

NATO condemns ‘irresponsible’ attacks, further sanctions considered

NATO on Friday condemned the “irresponsible” bombings by Russian forces against a nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine and the Allies are considering new sanctions against Moscow to end the war.

But they refuse to be directly involved in the war. “NATO does not want to be involved in the conflict”, reaffirmed its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the start of an emergency meeting of Alliance Foreign Ministers convened on 9^and day of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army.

“We are not looking for conflict. We are a defensive alliance and we will defend our territory,” confirmed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“The attack on a nuclear power plant demonstrates the irresponsible nature of this war and the need to end it,” insisted Jens Stoltenberg.

Russian tank fire against the Zaporozhye power plant overnight from Thursday to Friday set fire to a building dedicated to training and a laboratory, but no radioactive leak was found, Ukrainian authorities said.

The Russian army has taken control of the plant, but “the staff controls the energy blocks and ensures their operation in accordance with the requirements of the technical regulations for operational safety”, indicated the Ukrainian nuclear regulator.

“The rise of the escalation takes the form of a questioning of the integrity of the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant”, denounced the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian who called for “continuing the isolation from Russia.

L’Union européenne va discuter vendredi de la possibilité d’imposer de nouvelles sanctions contre Moscou qui concerneraient ses achats de gaz et de pétrole et permettent de financer l’effort de guerre de la Russie, a annoncé le chef de la diplomatie européenne.

« Cette guerre est totalement injustifiée […] we must remain united and ready to act,” affirmed Josep Borrell on his arrival for the meeting at NATO to which he had been invited.

“You could see that everything is still on the table, because some measures that nobody expected have been taken,” he said in response to a question about European imports of Russian gas and oil.

European energy purchases from Russia have been valued at almost 700 million euros per day since the start of the crisis, according to data from the Bruegel Institute.

But Russian oil is struggling to find buyers because of fears of sanctions.

“We are going to take new measures against Putin’s power,” warned German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock without further details.

Josep Borrell will chair an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers in the early afternoon, which will be attended by their American, Canadian and British counterparts, as well as Jens Stoltenberg.

Since the start of the offensive, the EU has adopted several sets of sanctions aimed in particular at the economic and financial sectors, the closure of its airspace to Russian aircraft and individual sanctions, in particular against President Vladimir Putin, his entourage and oligarchs.