Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed on Saturday that Russia would consider co-belligerent any country trying to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, a claim by Kiev that NATO has rejected.
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“We hear that it would be necessary to establish a no-fly zone over Ukrainian territory. But it is impossible to do this from Ukrainian territory, it is only possible to do it from the territory of neighboring countries,” Putin said.
But any measure in this direction would be considered by Moscow “as a participation in the armed conflict of any country” whose territory would be used to “create a threat once morest our military”, he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday sharply criticized NATO’s refusal to implement a no-fly zone in Ukraine to neutralize Russia’s vastly superior capabilities in the air.
Western countries refuse to accede to this request, which is complex to implement, on the grounds that this would entail a significant risk of direct conflict with Russia, whose soldiers have been intervening in Ukraine since February 24.
