During his speech to Congress on Wednesday morning, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his call for a no-fly zone to be imposed above Ukrainian territory, in order to protect civilians and troops from Russian attacks.
“Friends, Americans, in your great history, you have pages that would allow you to understand Ukrainians, understand us now, when we need you right now,” Zelensky said, according to a rough translation.
“Remember Pearl Harbor, terrible morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you,” Zelensky said. “Just remember it. Remember, September the 11th, a terrible day in 2001 when evil tried to turn U.S. cities into battlefields, when innocent people were attacked from air, just like nobody else expected it and you could not stop it. Our country experiences the same, every day, right now.”
“Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people,” Zelensky continued. “Russian troops have already fired nearly 1,000 missiles at Ukraine, countless bombs. They use drones to kill us with precision. This is a terror that Europe has not seen, has not seen for 80 years and we are asking for a reply, for an answer to this terror from the whole world.”
“To create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people, is this too much to ask?” Zelensky asked.
“We offer an alternative: you know what kind of defense systems we need. 300 and other similar systems, you know how much depends on the battlefield on their ability to use aircraft. Powerful, strong air aviation to protect our people with freedom or learn aircraft that can help Ukraine help Europe and you know that they exist and you have them but they are on earth not in Ukraine in the Ukrainian sky,” Zelensky continued.
“They don’t defend our people. I have a dream,” Zelensky added. “These words are known to each of you today. I can say I have a need. I need to protect our sky. I need your decision. Your help. Which means exactly the same. The same you feel when you hear the words. I have a dream.”
Yesterday, Zelensky made the same request to the Canadian Parliament.
“Can you imagine when you call your friends, your friend, a nation, and you ask, ‘Please close the skies. Close the airspace. Please stop the bombing.’ How many more of those missiles have to fall on our cities until you make this happen?” Zelensky asked.
Earlier this month, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, explained the impact that the United States declaring a no-fly zone over Ukraine could have — flying Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWAC) system planes over the country, shooting down Russian airplanes, and even taking out anti-aircraft systems.
“So basically a no-fly zone — if people understood what it means, it means World War III,” the senator said before noting that the U.S. can provide support in other ways.
Ian Haworth is a writer for The Daily Wire and contributor to Morning Wire. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.