The Atlantic Alliance (NATO) announced this Friday "the painful decision" not to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, arguing that this could motivate a military response from Russia that would trigger a nuclear conflict.
Its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, met at its European headquarters with the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and stated that the member countries will not intervene "neither by land nor by air" in Ukraine.
In accordance with article 5 of the founding treaty of NATO, the allies must come to the defense of one of their members if it is attacked, so that if a military plane were shot down during the imposition of that exclusion zone, they would have to go to the war, just as Russia would react if they shot down one of their own.
Ukraine is not part of NATO, and its rapprochement with the Atlantic Alliance has contributed to the attack launched by Russia.
Stoltenberg, left, and Blinken at a meeting of foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Olivier Douliery / AP
"The only way to implement a no-fly zone is to send NATO warplanes into Ukrainian airspace, and then enforce that no-fly zone by shooting down Russian planes," Stoltenberg said.
"If we did that, we would end up with something that could end up in a war across Europe," he added.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, asked the West for this measure after the seizure by Russian troops of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe.
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The Russian invasion advances in the south of the Ukraine, in an attempt to cut off its access to the sea.
In addition, the main cities continue to be threatened while the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, reinforces his internal control.
The Russian Parliament approved this Friday a bill that introduces penalties of up to 15 years in prison for intentionally spreading "false" information about the military invasion.
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Putin's security services have intensified the crackdown on dissent and moved to nullify any coverage of the war that does not meet the regime's strict requirements.
Russia's communications watchdog has restricted access to Western media.
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The UN Human Rights Council approved this Friday the creation of an independent commission of experts to investigate the human rights violations perpetrated by Russia in its aggression against Ukraine, which according to the Ukrainian authorities constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The resolution of the Council, made up of 47 countries, was approved with 32 votes in favor, 13 abstentions (including those of China, Cuba and Venezuela) and only two votes against (Russia and Eritrea).
With information from
The Associated Press