Pentagon Pushes Back on No-Fly Zone over Ukraine

In this image provided by the U.S. Air Force, a U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II aircraft
Senior Airman Joseph Barron/U.S. Air Force via AP
Kristina Wong

The Pentagon on Monday pushed back against the idea of enforcing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, as some lawmakers call for the United States to intervene in the country’s war against Russia.

A U.S. senior defense official, during a background briefing on Ukraine, told reporters that a no-fly zone over Ukraine would not have prevented the Russians from bombing a military training center in western Ukraine, since the attacks came from inside Russian airspace.

The official said the United States assesses that the strike on the Yavoriv training center Sunday was conducted by a “couple dozen” Russian air-launched cruise missiles from inside Ukraine.

“Our assessment is that all these air launched cruise missiles were launched from Russian long-range bombers from Russian air space, not from inside Ukrainian airspace,” the official said.

“For the advocates of a no-fly zone, this is an example of how a no-fly zone inside Ukraine would have had no effect on this particular set of strikes,” the official added.

The pushback comes as some U.S. lawmakers and Ukrainian officials have called for NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which would entail the United States and other allies potentially shooting down Russian planes over Ukraine and effectively entering the war.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), who is leaving Congress this year, has continued to call for a no-fly zone as recently as Sunday.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has also said he would support a no-fly zone over Ukraine if Russia uses chemical weapons in Ukraine.

U.S. officials have expressed concern in recent days that Russia may be promoting disinformation about bio-labs in Ukraine so that it can stage a chemical weapons attack and blame it on Ukraine.

President Joe Biden has promised that no U.S. troops would be fighting in Ukraine, but has sent 12,000 forces into Eastern Europe over the last several weeks, both before and after Russia invaded Ukraine, and has pledged to defend every “inch” of territory belonging to NATO members.

 

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