The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is facing mounting calls to close the sky over Ukraine to disrupt the incessant aerial bombardment by the Russian military.
Reacting to the latest assault, Hope For Ukraine CEO Yuriy Boyechko contends that the enforcement of a no-fly zone would prevent further loss of lives and enable aid to reach frontline regions safely.
Condemning Russia’s weekend strikes on western Ukraine, particularly the Lviv region, he advised Europe to project strength every time Russian missiles or drones violate the airspace.
“NATO jets are scrambled, but no further action is taken,” the humanitarian said in reference to Poland. “All of the weapons Russia uses to strike Ukraine are unmanned drones and missiles.”
Boyechko urged NATO to guard the sky over western Ukraine so that the military can redeploy its air defense systems to the front lines, “where regions are being attacked daily by Russian forces.”
“Ukraine cannot continue to repel large-scale attacks week after week on its own,” he noted. “If European countries were to shoot drones, they would not be putting any Russian pilots at risk.”
On Monday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of firing 500 drones and 50 missiles toward multiple regions of Ukraine, throwing thousands of civilians in Zaporizhzhia into darkness.
He said the rockets and UAVs contained over 100,000 parts sourced from firms in China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Zaporizhzhia Governor, Ivan Fedorov, confirmed one person in the southeastern region died, while four people were killed in the western region of Lviv, close to the border with Poland.
In a recent interview, former U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker told КИЇВ24 that Russian provocations could push NATO to reconsider a no-fly zone, which it refused to do in 2022.
Volker, who also served as U.S. Ambassador to NATO, believes most member-states would support the idea to forestall further incursions like the breach of the skies of Estonia, Poland, and Romania.
