Creating a no-fly zone over Ukraine would threaten the United States with a war with Russia, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said in an interview with NBC.
He said US President Joe Biden made it clear that American troops will not fight Russia in Ukraine, he said, adding that maintaining a no-fly zone, if introduced, would require contact with Russian aircraft.
According to the Pentagon chief, this would threaten war between the United States and Russia.
Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, in one of his video addresses to the nation, said that it was time for the West to consider creating a no-fly zone for Russian missiles, planes, and helicopters in response to the Russian shelling of Kharkiv. He did not specify how and by whom the no-fly zone regime should be ensured. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, in turn, ruled out the possibility of introducing a no-fly zone over Ukraine by the alliance forces. At the same time, the head of Zelensky’s office, Andriy Yermak, said that although Ukraine understands that introducing a no-fly zone could lead to a direct conflict between NATO and Russia, they still ask for such a measure.