Ukrainians called for a no-fly zone over their country during a peaceful protest in Newcastle over the weekend.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the West’s reluctance to impose the measure gave Russian President Putin the “green light” to bomb the country.
Protesters demonstrating outside Grey’s Monument in Newcastle on Saturday carried signs calling for more action, including calls echoing Mr Zelensky’s demand for NATO to create a no-fly zone, which would ban Russian aircraft from Ukrainian airspace, with a threat to shoot down any aircraft ignoring the measure.
Read more : Newcastle Ukrainians call for no-fly zone
Oleg Sklyga, 44, a Ukrainian engineer who now lives in Stockton-on-Tees, said: “It’s a war and it’s a crime the Russians are committing against our people.
“They bomb peaceful towns and kill citizens and children. They bomb hospitals and schools.
“We are trying to ask people to petition the West to close the skies over Ukraine because every day we have more casualties and more deaths. That’s why we are here.”
NATO and member states including the UK and US have resisted calls for a no-fly zone.
Speaking on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said creating a no-fly zone would lead to “massive escalation” and allow President Putin to sell a “narrative” to the Russian people.
The situation in war-torn Ukraine is heartbreaking. If you want to help, you can donate money to charities working to support Ukrainians. If you would like to donate, Newcastle City Council suggests the following charities:
He told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips on Sunday’s show: “We’re not going to get into a direct military conflict with Putin because that would be a massive escalation, but that also feeds into Putin’s narrative.
“Putin wants to say that he is in fact in a struggle with the West – he is not”.
He called the no-fly zones “very difficult, very difficult”, adding: “We will do everything that is not possible to support the Ukrainians.”
What is a no-fly zone?
President Zelensky is calling on NATO – an alliance of 30 European and North American countries including the UK, Canada, US, Turkey, Poland and much of the EU – to enforce a zone no-fly ban prohibiting Russian aircraft from entering Ukrainian airspace.
The idea is to prevent Russian planes from bombing and bombing Ukraine. NATO would threaten to shoot down Russian planes and helicopters that violate the order.
Neither Ukraine nor Russia are members of NATO. Ukraine’s neighbors are Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland.
Why does Ukraine want a no-fly zone?
Mr Zelensky pleaded with NATO to introduce a no-fly zone in a bid to prevent Russian planes from attacking his country and bombing its people.
Speaking on Saturday March 5, he criticized NATO for failing to introduce a no-fly zone.
He told the rulers, “From today on, everyone who dies will also die because of you, because of your weakness, because of your disunity.”
The failure to introduce a no-fly zone “gave” Russia “the green light to bomb Ukrainian towns and villages”, Zelensky added.
Why is there no no-fly zone over Ukraine?
For a no-fly zone to be effective, the threats behind them must be reinforced. Russia is not a member of NATO and can choose to ignore the no-fly order.
NATO should allow lethal force on Russian planes that enter the no-fly zone, which would essentially drag other countries into war with Russia.
Mr Putin said on Saturday that a no-fly zone would be considered by him as “participation in an armed conflict by this country” and he has previously warned of “consequences greater than those you have suffered in history” for the nations that intervene.
A top military leader said a no-fly zone over Ukraine “wouldn’t help”.
Chief of the Defense Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin told the BBC’s Sunday morning show: “The advice we as senior military professionals give to our politicians is to avoid doing things that are tactically ineffective and to definitely avoid doing things that tactically could lead to miscalculation or escalation.
“The no-fly zone wouldn’t help.
“Most of the bombing comes from the artillery, most of the destruction comes from the artillery, it doesn’t come from the Russian planes.
“If we were to monitor a no-fly zone, that means we probably have to take out Russian defense systems and we would have NATO planes in the air alongside Russian planes and then the ability to shoot them down, then it leads to an escalation”.
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Source: www.chroniclelive.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-03-06 13:51:44
