No-fly zone: Ukraine’s request to NATO that Russia would consider a declaration of war. The in-depth analysis of the daily newspaper El Pais
The Western allies – we read in the El Pais article – have refused to prevent the air attacks in Moscow, as Zelenski asks, for fear that the conflict on Ukrainian territory could degenerate into an all-out war in Europe.
Russia’s tough offensive against Ukraine prompted President Volodymir Zelensky to ask NATO and his allies for arms, but also for the creation of a no-fly zone to avoid air strikes on the invaded country. The US and the EU have moved to supply arms to Ukrainian forces – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday raised the possibility of sending fighter jets from Poland to Kiev in exchange for more modern equipment. Western allies, however, have ruled out declaring a no-fly zone in Ukraine. Russian leader Vladimir Putin has threatened to use all military means at his disposal to target any third country that interferes in the conflict. Sunday,What is a no-fly zone
It consists in the absolute prohibition of carrying out military flights in a certain area in order to prevent attack, surveillance or observation air missions. What are the advantages for Ukraine
It would prevent the bombing of Russian aircraft and reduce the operational capacity of President Vladimir Putin’s army to invade a country of more than 600,000 square kilometers. Has it ever been used
Yes, more than once. For example, in the conflicts in Libya (2011), in northern Iraq (between 1991 and 2003) or in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1993-95). What was the trigger
In the case of Libya, prevent the air forces of Muammar Gaddafi’s government from crushing the Arab Spring uprisings in the country. In other cases, humanitarian reasons have been invoked, or to stop the persecution and killing of certain ethnic groups within a country. How the ban is enforced
By military means. Any aircraft entering the exclusion zone can be shot down. Who exercises surveillance
It depends on the individual case. In Libya it was an international coalition. In northern Iraq were the US, British and French forces. And NATO took over the operation in the former Yugoslav republic of Bosnia. What is the position of the West here
It has ruled out a no-fly zone. “The allies have agreed that there should be no NATO aircraft in Ukrainian airspace and no NATO troops on Ukrainian territory,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on March 4 at the end of an extraordinary meeting of the 30 countries’ foreign ministers. allies. Because Westerners refuse to apply the exclusion clause in Ukraine
For fear of causing an escalation of the conflict and a head-on clash between nuclear powers such as Russia and the main NATO allies (United States, United Kingdom and France). “The only way to implement a no-fly zone is to send NATO aircraft, fighter jets into Ukrainian airspace, and from there apply the exclusion by shooting down Russian planes,” explained Stoltenberg. Experts also point out that the first step in an exclusion is to destroy the potential enemy’s anti-aircraft equipment, which could require bombing Russian positions in Ukraine.
The secretary general of the Alliance added that the allies are convinced that such an operation would lead to “a situation that could end up causing an all-out war in Europe, involving many more countries and causing much more human suffering”. Stoltenberg’s words are perhaps the first of an international leader to evoke the risk of the conflict over Ukraine turning into a third world war. What Russia said on the issue
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on March 5 accused Zelensky of trying to involve NATO to lure Westerners into an armed confrontation with Russia. “He is trying to provoke a conflict with NATO involvement, between NATO and Russia,” Lavrov said at a news conference. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on February 24, while launching the invasion of Ukraine, that he would use all military means at his disposal to target any third country that interferes in the conflict. All Western capitals have interpreted these words as a threat to use nuclear bombs. Putin and Lavrov have stressed several times in recent weeks that Moscow is ready to use its atomic arsenal. And the Russian president told French President Emmanuel Macron in one of their recent telephone conversations that “Russia will win this war, no matter how”. On Sunday, a spokesman for the Russian defense ministry warned that “the use of these countries’ air bases as bases for the Ukrainian air forces, followed by their deployment against the Russian military, could be seen as the participation of these countries in the armed conflict “.If so, who should authorize or decide the exclusion zone
There are no clearly defined international rules for adopting such a measure. In some cases, it was done with the express authorization of the UN, as in the case of Libya, approved by the Security Council with 10 votes in favor and five abstentions (Germany, Russia, China, India and Brazil). In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the UN has also called for a no-fly zone to end the human catastrophe caused by one of the fronts of the Balkan conflict. In Iraq, on the other hand, the UN resolutions in favor of intervention for humanitarian reasons have been used as a starting point, even if these texts do not explicitly authorize the use of military means. The operation would be expensive
No doubt. Ukraine is the largest country in Europe after Russia, so the area to be covered would be huge. The no-fly zone requires very frequent aerial patrols. The bill would also depend on the duration of the conflict. Experts agree that Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion could lead to a long-term war. The US participation in the southern Iraq no-fly zone alone cost about 700 million euros a year, according to a report by the US Congressional Research Service.
(Extract from the foreign press review by Epr Comunicazione)
