Stoltenberg explained why NATO did not close the sky over Ukraine

Jens Stoltenberg recounted in his memoirs that Ukraine's request to close the airspace was not supported, as it could have provoked a large-scale war between NATO and Russia.

Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg mentioned in his memoirs "On My Watch" a conversation with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that took place in February 2022, during the early days of the full-scale invasion.

According to Stoltenberg, the President of Ukraine called him from a bunker with a request to establish a no-fly zone:

"I accept your decision not to send NATO ground troops, although I disagree with it. But please, close the airspace. Don't let Russian planes, drones, and helicopters fly and attack us."

Stoltenberg explained that fulfilling this request would mean engaging in direct combat with Russian forces. To establish a no-fly zone, it would be necessary to destroy Russian air defense systems located not only in the occupied territories of Ukraine but also in Russia and Belarus itself.

"And if there is a Russian plane or helicopter in the air, we would have to shoot it down, and then a full-scale war between NATO and Russia would erupt. And we are not prepared for that. As Biden, who was President of the United States at the time, said, we will not risk a third world war for Ukraine," – Stoltenberg noted.

He recalls that it was "painful" for him to end that phone conversation with Zelenskyy, "knowing that his life was in danger."