Despite the seemingly chummy talks between American and Russian leaders, there is no end in sight to the war in Ukraine. The warring nations continue volleying strikes at each other, the U.S. president is persistently bombarded with calls to level more sanctions against Russia, and now Poland is proposing a NATO-backed no-fly zone over Ukraine.
A NATO-enforced no-fly zone in Ukraine would essentially pit the alliance in a war against Russia because enforcement would require NATO nations to shoot down Russian aircrafts. Moreover, given that the U.S. is NATO’s most military-robust member, the move would likely turn Americans into combatants against Russians.
On Monday, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski called on NATO nations impose the no-fly zone. He framed the proposal as a way to protect Europe. Said Sikorski:
We as NATO and the E.U. could be capable of doing this, but it is not a decision that Poland can make alone; it can only be made with its allies. Protection for our population — for example, from falling debris — would naturally be greater if we could combat drones and other flying objects beyond our national territory. If Ukraine were to ask us to shoot them down over its territory, that would be advantageous for us. If you ask me personally, we should consider it.
No-fly zones have been proposed before, notably by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. But even the Biden administration had the sense to brush the proposal off. “It would require, essentially, the U.S. military shooting down Russian planes and prompting a potential direct war with Russia, the exact step that we want to avoid,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in March 2022. There is no indication as of now that the United States is on board with the Polish proposal.
Last week, the Poles reported having to scramble fighter jets and put their air defenses on standby after Russian drones violated their airspace. The Russians said they hadn’t targeted Poland, they never received evidence the drones were theirs, and that the episode was another attempt “by Warsaw to further escalate the Ukrainian crisis.” Russian media also reported that Belarus had warned Poland that some drones may have lost their way. You can read more about that in our previous report here.
That event was followed by a similar one in Romania on Saturday, reportedly. “Romania scrambled fighter jets after a Russian drone breached its airspace during an attack on neighboring Ukraine,” according to Western media. “Fragments of Russian drones have fallen into Romania repeatedly during the course of the war.”
Europe Stopping Peace?
As far as the Russians are concerned, “the Europeans are getting in the way” of a peace agreement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that “NATO is de facto at war with Russia. This is obvious and needs no proof. NATO provides direct and indirect support to the Kyiv regime.”
The Russians also claim that Polish leaders have turned down requests to discuss the incident. According to Russian Federation Council Deputy Chairman Konstantin Kosachev:
Of course, the provocation is man-made. I am certain that Ukrainians are behind it, as well as those who support and encourage them in their determination to prolong the armed conflict with Russia. The escalation is plainly visible. The situation could be comprehensively resolved through direct consultations between the relevant Polish and Russian agencies, without intermediaries. Since everything is being done except this, it is clear that the issue is not concern for security, but rather a desire to continue pressing the escalation pedal in the conflict in Ukraine.
At least one American expert on military matters believes the Europeans are trying to expand the war. President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor, General Mike Flynn, said last week, “The EU strongly desires a direct conflict with Russia and will pull every card, play any trick to find a way to drag NATO into a much more direct conflict. We must find a peaceful way out of this war.”
No comments:
Post a Comment