What is a no-fly zone, and why has NATO refused to impose one over Ukraine thus far?

 A no-fly zone over Ukraine, according to the US and its NATO allies, may lead to a direct clash with Russia. One expert stated, "It's a combat mission."

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Even as the death toll rises, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked NATO to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to prevent Russian warplane assaults — a request the West has flatly rejected.

Top NATO leaders, including the United States, have repeatedly ruled it out, claiming that imposing a no-fly zone over key parts of Ukraine would draw the alliance into Moscow's war against its neighbor. Experts believe they are unlikely to budge on the issue because a no-fly zone would essentially require NATO to take over the air war that Ukraine is currently fighting against Russian attacks.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking on NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday, reaffirmed NATO's position, adding that President Joe Biden has been "quite clear about one thing all along, which is we're not going to put the United States in direct war with Russia."

What is a no-fly zone, and what does it take to enforce one?

A country's use of airplanes to attack military targets or civilians on the ground is prohibited by no-fly zones, but just declaring airspace off-limits is insufficient.

NATO would be responsible for patrolling the region with its own planes and being ready to fire at enemy planes to safeguard the safety of civilians on the ground after the declaration was made.

In an interview, Mark Cancian, senior adviser at the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, said, "There is tremendous reluctance on the part of the Pentagon and the political establishment." "The president and NATO have been adamant, and the reason for it is that this is a combat mission."

"We'd be flying dozens, if not hundreds, of aircraft over Ukraine, shooting at the Russians while they shot at us," Cancian said.

"It would be a declaration of war!" In an emailed comment, Michael O'Hanlon, director of foreign policy studies at the left-leaning Brookings Institution, warned that implementing a no-fly zone may involve NATO employing force to secure the safety of its own planes, allowing them to monitor and enforce.

"One would need to disable the adversary's air defense network, which includes not only planes but also radars and communications sites, as well as the people who man them," O'Hanlon explained. "Unless you can do it all with jamming, that requires bombs, which will kill people."

Countries outside of NATO, which do not include Ukraine, have donated armaments to Kyiv while imposing tough economic penalties on Russia, but they have refrained from taking any move that would put them in direct conflict with Russia.

While the Russian invasion was "horrific," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated last week that it was NATO's obligation to keep its member states secure.

The only option to put a no-fly zone in place is to declare one "to send NATO jets, particularly fighter planes, into Ukrainian territory and then establish a no-fly zone by shooting down Russian planes And, in our opinion, we understand the desperation "During a press conference, Stoltenberg stated. "However, we fear that if we do so, we will end up with something that could escalate into a full-fledged war in Europe, involving many more countries and resulting in far more human suffering."

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned over the weekend that any move to establish a no-fly zone above Ukraine would be seen as "participation" in the conflict.

"At that precise moment, we will see them as participants in the military conflict, regardless of who they are," Putin added.

Arguments for and against

While the majority of US senators reject a no-fly zone, a few have stated that they are open to the idea or have even advocated for it.