Zelenskyy urges NATO to impose no-fly zone over Ukraine

I reiterate that if you do not close our sky, it is only a matter of time before Russian missiles fall on your territory, on NATO territory, on the homes of NATO citizens.

Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday urged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to impose a no-fly zone over his country or see its member states attacked by Russia.

In his virtual address on Monday, Zelenskyy said: “I reiterate that if you do not close our sky, it is only a matter of time before Russian missiles fall on your territory, on NATO territory, on the homes of NATO citizens.” He spoke a day after thirty-five people were killed and more than 130 injured when Russian troops launched airstrikes on a military training ground, near the border with NATO member Poland.

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The Ukrainian President also said that he had warned NATO that without preventive sanctions, Russia would begin a war and that Moscow would use Nord Stream 2 as a weapon.

“I had warned NATO that without preventive sanctions, Russia would begin a war & that Moscow would use Nord Stream 2 as a weapon,” he said.

Earlier Russia claimed that it killed 180 “foreign mercenaries” in a missile strike on Yavoriv military training ground in western Ukraine, according to a media report. Kyiv, however, denied the report terming it “pure Russian propaganda”.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said that in a discussion with European Council President Charles Michel, special attention was given to the further negotiation process on Ukraine’s EU membership.

“Regular international talks. With President of the Council @eucopresident, we discussed the issue of increasing financial support for and sanctions pressure on the aggressor. Special attention was paid to the further negotiation process on Ukraine’s EU membership,” Zelenskyy tweeted.

He spoke with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Petr Fiala Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and spoke about Ukraine’s struggle against Russian aggression.