Zelensky says Biden personally ruled out a ‘no-fly zone’ over Ukraine as Russia attacks

• Biden personally ruled out a “no-fly zone” over Ukraine, Ukrainian President Zelensky said.
• Zelensky has repeatedly asked for one amid Russia’s attack.
• US officials have said a no-fly zone could escalate into a direct military confrontation with Russia.

President Joe Biden personally told Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky that forces from the US or NATO would not impose a “no-fly zone” over Ukraine as Russia continues its assault on the country, Zelensky said Tuesday.

In an interview with Reuters and CNN, the Ukrainian president reiterated his request that NATO countries impose the “no-fly zone,” allowing the alliance to police the skies over Ukraine and deny Russian the ability to bring its superior air power to bear on Ukrainian defenders and civilians. Zelensky also asked NATO to accelerate its bid to include Ukraine into the alliance.

“Our partners, if they are not ready to take Ukraine into NATO … because Russia does not want Ukraine to be in NATO, should work out common security guarantees for Ukraine,” Zelensky told Reuters and CNN.

But the United States and other NATO countries have repeatedly ruled out imposing a “no-fly zone,” which would require the NATO aircraft to monitor the airspace and intercept intruders, with the power to shoot them down if they don’t withdraw. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that doing so would be tantamount to a declaration of war on Russia, which has a vast nuclear weapons stockpile. 

“That is definitely escalatory, that would potentially put us in a place where we are in a military conflict with Russia. That is not something [President Joe Biden] wants to do,” Psaki told MSNBC. “Those are all the reasons why that’s not a good idea.”

A handful of Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Rep. Adam Kinzinger have also asked for the US to impose a no-fly zone. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, the leading Republican on the Senate's intelligence committee, has ruled it out.

"I think people have to understand what that means," Rubio said Monday. "That means the willingness to shoot down Russian aircraft, and that would mean World War III."

Other leaders of NATO countries, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, have also rejected the idea of imposing a no-fly zone.

Biden has instead provided weapons support to the Ukrainian military. In the past week, his administration approved an additional $350 million in weapons support. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, another leader of a NATO country, promised to send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles.