President Zelenskyy Hits Out At NATO Over No-Fly Zone Rejection

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called out NATO for its decision to not impose a no-fly zone above the country amid Russia's ongoing invasion.

Yesterday, March 4, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation revealed it would not be sending troops on the ground into Ukraine or putting NATO airplanes into the airspace above the country out of fear it 'could end up in a full-fledged war in Europe'.

While having decided to not deploy troops directly into Ukraine, the alliance has continued to strengthen its forces in other areas of Eastern Europe.

However, President Zelenskyy has since spoken out against NATO, disagreeing that such a move would 'provoke Russia's direct aggression against NATO'.

After meeting with the alliance's foreign ministers, NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that if an no-fly zone was enforced and troops deployed on the ground it could lead to an even more 'devastating and dangerous situation'.

Zelenskyy has since branded NATO's decision to not impose a no-fly zone a 'green light' for Russia to continue its attack, and accused members of the alliance of falling under 'self-hypnosis,' the BBC reports.

The president also alleged that the decision reflected how 'not everyone considers the struggle for freedom to be Europe's number one goal'.

He concluded: 'All the people who will die starting from this day will also die because of you. Because of your weakness, because of your disunity.'

Zelenskyy also took to Twitter to argue that a no-fly zone was even more necessary following Russia's advances in taking over Europe's largest nuclear power plant.

He wrote: 'Nuclear terrorism requires decisive action in response. At the #UN Security Council meeting, we called for closing the sky over 🇺🇦 and launching an operation to maintain peace and security. The goal is to save hazardous facilities. The world must not watch, but help!'

Despite how Anthony Blinken predicted a no-fly zone wouldn't be enforced by NATO, the US Secretary of State still thinks Ukraine is likely to win the war.

'I can't tell you how long this will go on. I can't tell you how long it will take. But the idea that Russia can subjugate to its will 45 million people who are ardently fighting for their future and their freedom, that does not involve Russia having its thumb on Ukraine, that tells you a lot', he told the BBC.

If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information 

Topics: Ukraine, Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.