Kyiv: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said that any third-party declaration of no-fly zone over Ukraine will be considered as participation in the conflict by Moscow.
“These sanctions that are being imposed are akin to a declaration of war but thank God it has not come to that,” Putin said.
Earlier, implementation of the ‘no-fly zone’ over Ukraine was refused by NATO stating that it could provoke widespread war in Europe with nuclear-armed Russia.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, “What is taking place now in Ukraine is horrific. It’s painful and we see human suffering, we see destruction on a scale we haven’t seen in Europe since the Second World War.”
But, he added, “We are not going to move into Ukraine, neither on the ground, nor in the Ukrainian airspace.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had pushed NATO to impose a no-fly zone over his country, condemned the decision.
Ukraine Has A Hold On Key Cities: Zelensky
Ukrainian President Zelensky on Saturday stated that Ukraine has hold on its key cities, in the central and southeastern part of the country. The Russian forces are trying to block and attacking over Kharkiv, Nikolaev, Chernihiv and Sumy.
Zelensky said, “We’re inflicting losses on the occupants they could not see in their worst nightmare.” He claimed that in 10 days of war has led to killing of 10,000 Russian troops, a claim that could not be independently verified. The Russian Army does not provide regular update on their casualties. Only once on Wednesday, the revealed loss of 500 Army men.
“This is horrible,” Zelenskyy said. “Guys 18, 20 years old … soldiers who weren’t even explained what they were going to fight for.”
Aeroflot, Russia’s flagship carrier, has stated that it will halt all international flights except to Belarus starting from March 8.
The move by airline comes after the country’s aviation agency, Rosaviatsiya, recommended that all Russian airlines with foreign-leased planes halt both passenger and cargo flights abroad.
It cited a high risk of foreign-leased planes being impounded as part of Western sanctions that ban leasing of planes to Russia.
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