Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeatedly urged for a no-fly zone to ban Russian aircraft from entering Ukrainian airspace to prevent attacks and surveillance.
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Zelenskyy condemned the West's lack of intervention and called it "a green light" for Russia to continue bombing hospitals, towns, and other civilian targets.
However, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization rejected implementing a no-fly zone in part due to Article 5 – a cornerstone of the Western military alliance that states that an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all its members.
The charter has only been invoked once in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 on the United States, which led to the "War on Terror" and the invasion of Afghanistan, according to History.
In the current situation, the use of Article 5 means a direct involvement of NATO in the war in Ukraine which could escalate, leading to a third world war.
The only way for the Western alliance to implement a no-fly zone would be by sending aircraft to intercept jets belonging to the Russian air force; a more formidable opponent than those present in other conflicts where NATO imposed a no-fly zone.
For instance, in 1993 NATO established a no-fly zone over Bosnia, and the same occurred in Libya in 2011. However, the threat was minimal compared to Russia, Howard Stoffer, professor of international affairs at the University of New Haven, told ABC News.
"First of all, they don't have nuclear weapons," Stoffer said. "Second of all, they didn't have air superiority."
As NATO is a defense alliance, it is responsible for preventing a situation like that, NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated at a news conference.
"We are not part of this conflict and we have a responsibility to make sure it does not escalate and spread beyond Ukraine," he said, adding, "NATO is not seeking a war with Russia."
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Although the US and NATO have opposed implementing a no-fly zone, the sentiment changed last week after Zelenskyy addressed the US Congress and the Canadian parliament.
"How many more cruise missiles have to fall on our cities until you make this [no-fly zone] happen?" he asked the Canadian Parliament, according to the BBC.
On Monday, Estonia stated that it supported a no-fly zone, followed by Lithuania, Latvia, and Slovenia.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
