Russia’s War on Ukraine
American and European leaders have been resistant to a no-fly zone, arguing that it would unleash a wider war.
A factory and a store burn after being bombarded Sunday in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. | Emilio Morenatti/AP Photo
By Maeve Sheehey
03/06/2022 10:26 AM EST
Updated: 03/06/2022 01:38 PM EST
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As Ukrainian leaders plead with the West for help against Russia’s attacks on their country, they’re meeting staunch resistance on one key request: a no-fly zone.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine has pleaded with Western powers for protection of the country’s airspace, but there is a strong bipartisan consensus in the U.S. and among its European allies that implementing a no-fly zone could be disastrous. On Sunday, American leaders on the right and left argued that taking this action would unleash a wider war, with multiple lawmakers invoking fears that it could lead to World War III.
Though U.S. lawmakers were largely unwavering in their warnings against the no-fly zone, they’ve warmed to many of Ukraine’s requests. There is growing support on both sides of the aisle for a ban on oil imports from Moscow, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday indicated that the U.S. was working on the prospect with European allies. Aid to Ukraine, too, is swelling, after the Biden administration revamped its emergency funding request last week to ask for more assistance for the country. But even as military aid and harsh sanctions enjoy broad bipartisan support among U.S. lawmakers, the establishment of a no-fly zone has not gained traction in Congress.