‘GREENLIGHT FOR BOMBS’: UKRAINE SLAMS NATO OVER REJECTION OF NO-FLY ZONE

Sat 05 March 2022:

NATO has rejected Ukraine’s request for a no-fly zone, triggering outrage from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who claims the decision allows Russia to continue bombing his nation.

Following an emergency meeting of the 30-member alliance in Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced the decision.

He claimed that helping Ukraine defend its airspace from Russian missiles and jets would necessitate NATO soldiers shooting down Russian planes, resulting in a “full-fledged war in Europe involving many more countries.”

“We are not part of this conflict,” he said.

“We have a responsibility as NATO allies to prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine because that would be even more dangerous, more devastating and would cause even more human suffering.”

Ukraine’s president criticised the decision in a bitter and emotional speech.

In angry comments, he said the argument reflects the “self-hypnosis of those who are weak, under-confident inside” and that Western reservations indicated that “not everyone considers the struggle for freedom to be Europe’s number one goal”.

“All the people who will die starting from this day will also die because of you. Because of your weakness, because of your disunity,” a furious Zelensky added.

“Today there was a NATO summit, a weak summit, a confused summit, a summit where it was clear that not everyone considers the battle for Europe’s freedom to be the number one goal,” Zelenskyy said a televised address late on Friday.

“Today, the leadership of the alliance gave the green light for further bombing of Ukrainian cities and villages, having refused to set up a no-fly zone.”

#Ukrainian President Volodymr @ZelenskyyUa slams #NATO for refusing to impose a no fly zone over #Ukraine in fear of #Russia.

So far, NATO has only helped #Ukraine with 50 tons of diesel, #Zelenskyy said. #UkraineUnderAttaсk #RussianUkrainianWar #RussiaUkraine #Putin #Ukrania pic.twitter.com/Kjgpkev4MH

— Hamza Azhar Salam (@HamzaAzhrSalam) March 5, 2022

Russia invaded Ukraine by land, sea and air on February 24, calling it a “special military operation” aimed at dislodging “neo-Nazis” ruling the country. The nine-day offensive has killed and wounded thousands of people and sent more than one million people seeking refuge across its borders.

Zelenskyy said NATO, too, now bore responsibility for the deaths in Ukraine.

“All the people who die from this day forward will also die because of you, because of your weakness, because of your lack of unity,” he said.

Meanwhile, G7 countries said they would hold accountable those responsible for war crimes and refuse to recognise any Russian territorial gains.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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