Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Sunday exhorted Nato to declare a no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspace by sharing a photo of an undetonated shell that landed on a residential building in Chernihiv.
In a tweet, Kuleba pointed out that unlike this bomb that didn’t go off, many others have exploded and claimed the lives of thousands of Ukrainian civilians over the last 11 days since Russian forces invaded the country. The only ways to prevent the bloodshed would be to close Ukraine’s airspace or to supply the country with combat aircraft, he said.
“This horrific 500-kg Russian bomb fell on a residential building in Chernihiv and didn’t explode. Many other did, killing innocent men, women and children. Help us protect our people from Russian barbarians! Help us close the sky. Provide us with combat aircraft. Do something,” Kuleba wrote.
This horrific 500-kg Russian bomb fell on a residential building in Chernihiv and didn’t explode. Many other did, killing innocent men, women and children. Help us protect our people from Russian barbarians! Help us close the sky. Provide us with combat aircraft. Do something! pic.twitter.com/3Re0jlaKEL
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 6, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly called on Nato countries to stop the Russian onslaught on his country by imposing a no-fly zone. Western leaders have refused for fear of triggering a wider war in Europe.
On Sunday, European Union leader Charles Michel said closing Ukraine’s airspace could spark a world war. Moreover, deploying fighter jets over Ukraine could “in current circumstances” be considered as “Nato’s entry into the war and therefore risk World War III,” Michel was quoted by Associated Press as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow would consider a third-party declaration to close Ukrainian airspace to be a hostile act.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service has said more than 2,000 civilians have died in the ongoing conflict with Russia, while scores of others have been wounded. As of Sunday, the UN human rights office pegged casualties at 351 civilians killed and 707 injured in Ukraine since the start of the invasion.
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(With inputs from Agencies)