Following the NATO summit in Brussels, Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski said that the request from Ukrainian President Zelensky for a no-fly zone over Ukraine would mean direct war between NATO and Russia. The allies heard from Zelensky, who has been making this request for weeks, but was reportedly more restrained in this latest meeting.

The request for a no-fly zone was not put explicitly, because it to close the sky would mean direct military confrontation between NATO and Russia. He practically expressed his gratitude for all of the help he is receiving from NATO and the other countries, and for the sanctions imposed on Russia because he believes it will restrain the military intervention and deter Russia from the military activities. We see that their actions are turning into Groznification of Ukrainian cities, the city of Mariupol is completely leveled to the ground, and it’s not a small city, it’s a large city in southern Ukraine, Kovacevski said.

To repeated media questions about the no-fly zone, Kovacevski added that “I already told you, closing the sky over Ukraine would mean a military conflict between NATO and Russia and that would turn into a war of unseen proportions. For this reasion, NATO and the other, EU member countries, or the EU candidate countries, decided to go for economic sanctions and other non-military means and sanctions to deter Russia from further military actions”.