A group of foreign policy experts are calling for a “limited no-fly zone” over Ukraine that would protect established safe corridors for those evacuating the country and “deter Russian bombardment” to protect civilians.
In an open letter to the Biden administration that was first reported by Politico, 27 foreign policy experts urged for a “limited No-Fly Zone over Ukraine starting with protection for humanitarian corridors that were agreed upon in talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials on Thursday.”
“What we seek is the deployment of American and NATO aircraft not in search of confrontation with Russia but to avert and deter Russian bombardment that would result in massive loss of Ukrainian lives. This is in addition to the request from Ukrainian leaders for A-10 and MIG-29 aircraft to help Ukrainians defend themselves, which we also strongly support,” the group later added.
The foreign policy experts noted that a rapid number of people were fleeing Ukraine and said that the country was facing a “severe humanitarian disaster.”
“The refrain ‘never again’ emerged in the wake of the Holocaust, and Ukrainians are wondering whether that pledge applies to them,” the group wrote. “It is time for the United States and NATO to step up their help for Ukrainians before more innocent civilians fall victim to Putin’s murderous madness.”
The letter to the Biden administration was led by U.S.-Ukraine Foundation co-founder Robert McConnell.
Other notable signatories include former NATO supreme allied commander Gen. Philip Breedlove, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor and former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has lobbied the U.S. and NATO for a no-fly zone, but is has been ruled out by the Biden administration because its enforcement would require U.S. and NATO jets to attack Russia jets that violate it.
This would create direct military conflict between the U.S. and Russia, inching the world closer to a nuclear war.
“[The] president’s been very clear about one thing all along as well, which is we’re not going to put the United States in direct conflict with Russia, not have, you know, American planes flying against Russian planes or our soldiers on the ground in Ukraine,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said on ABC’s “This Week” that a no-fly zone “means World War III.”