Against Russia, we wont manage: Ukraine wants no-fly zone, US not keen

Volodymyr
Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, said his country, alone, against Russia “won’t
manage” and called for urgent help from the United States and the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). “I’ve spoken to Biden many times…And I’ve
told them many times that Ukraine will resist and fight stronger than anyone else
but on our own against Russia, we won’t manage,” Zelensky said in an interview
with CNN.

The 44-year-old actor-turned-president
called for the establishing of a no-fly zone over Ukraine. A no-fly zone is a
territory where certain aircraft are not allowed to fly. This has been one of
the long-standing demands of the Ukrainian government. “When we talk about
no-fly (zones), we’re looking back into history…and that doesn’t mean we need
to draw another country into the war now,” Zelensky said.

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The Ukrainian president was speaking from inside a bunker in central Kyiv. 

“It is very
important for the people of the United States to understand (that) despite the
fact that the war is in Ukraine…it is [a] war for the values of democracy,
freedom,” Zelensky said.

Only Monday, the
United States had denied the request for a no-fly zone. White House press
secretary Jen Psaki said, in an interview with MSNBC, that implementation of a
non-fly zone by the US would essentially mean the US military would be shooting
down Russian planes.

“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 said. “Those are all the reasons why that’s not a good idea…We
are not going to have a military war with Russia with US troops.”

Meanwhile, Zelensky
said 6,000 Russians were killed over the last six days, according to a Reuters
report.

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United States’
President Joe Biden said in his first State of the Union address Tuesday that
Vladimir Putin will “pay a price” for Russia’s “invasion” of Ukraine. The
Russian president met with a wall of strength in Ukraine, Biden said.