US says long-range Russian strikes weaken case for no-fly zone

Nato is unwilling to close Ukraine’s skies despite pleas from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

A man injured in air strikes on a training site in Yavoriv, western Ukraine, is helped by medical staff. Getty

A senior US official raised doubts on Tuesday about the effectiveness of any no-fly zone over Ukraine, adding a practical objection to the West’s reluctance to intervene directly in the war with Russia.

Julianne Smith, the US ambassador to Nato, said long-range air strikes that pounded the far west of Ukraine had come from inside Russian territory, demonstrating the long reach of Moscow’s armed forces.

The attacks on a training centre in Yavoriv, just 25 kilometres from the border with Poland, led to renewed calls from Kyiv for western powers to ban warplanes from Ukraine’s skies.

But officials in Washington have interpreted the attack as raising a broader question, as Ms Smith put it at a briefing on Tuesday, about the usefulness of a no-fly zone.

“What we learned from that was that Russia actually was able to instigate that attack from a Russian bomber in Russian airspace, begging the question about whether or not a no-fly zone in Ukrainian airspace would actually have a major impact on Russia’s ability to attack Ukrainian territory,” she said.

Nato has rejected Ukraine’s pleas for a no-fly zone on the grounds that enforcing it would involve shooting down Russian jets and risk escalating the conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he too would treat this as a direct Nato intervention in the conflict, a step the alliance wants to avoid – not least after Moscow ordered its nuclear deterrent put on high alert.

Smoke rising in Kyiv, which mayor Vitali Klitschko says faces a 'difficult and dangerous moment' as Russian forces step up strikes. AFP

Pope Francis meets visitors holding the Ukrainian flag during his weekly general audience in the Vatican. AFP

An anti-war protester demonstrates against Russia's invasion of Ukraine in front of the Nato headquarters in Brussels. AFP

A poster in Saint Petersburg carries the letter Z, a symbol of support for the invasion, and reads: "We are proud of Russia! We are not ashamed!" AFP

Amid the Ukraine war, there's time for a seaside stroll in Odesa. Reuters

A child who fled from Ukraine to Belgium waits outside an immigration office in Brussels. EPA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy receives a standing ovation as he appears via videoconference to make an address to Canada's Parliament. AP

A woman walks with a bicycle next to a building damaged during the conflict in the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha, Donetsk region. Reuters

A firefighter outside a destroyed apartment building in a residential area of Kyiv. AP

Ukrainian soldiers pay tribute to Col Valeriy Gudz, who was killed in battle against Russian troops, at a cemetery in the town of Boryspil. AP

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a housing block hit by shelling in the Sviatoshynsky district, in western Kyiv. AFP

Two people were killed as a series of powerful explosions rocked residential districts in Kyiv just hours before talks between Ukraine and Russia were set to resume. AFP

The Met Opera and Chorus performs during 'A Concert For Ukraine' in New York City. AFP

A worker welds metal at the Interpipe Steel plant in Dnipro, Ukraine. Hundreds of Interpipe’s 10,000 employees have joined the fight against Russia. AP

A woman is rescued by firefighters from her apartment in a burning building that was hit by artillery shells in Kyiv. AP

Rescuers work at a building damaged by an air strike, in central Kharkiv, Ukraine. Reuters

A woman who fled Ukraine to Belgium waits outside an immigration office, in Brussels. EPA

Cars stuck at the Irpin River bridge, as Russia unleashes a barrage of air strikes on cities across Ukraine. AFP

A firefighter looks at a section of a Ukrainian Tochka-U missile on a street in the separatist Donetsk region. The Russian military said 20 civilians were killed by a ballistic missile launched by the Ukrainian forces. AP

Musician Davide Martello plays a piano near the Ukrainian border in Medyka, Poland. More than 1.76 million people have crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border into Poland, the Polish Border Guard reported on March 14. EPA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, snaps a selfie with a wounded man during a visit at a military hospital after fighting in the Kyiv region.AFP

Ukrainian soldiers carry rocket-propelled grenades and sniper rifles as they walk towards the city of Irpin, north-west of Kyiv. AFP

Troops carry an elderly woman on a stretcher across a makeshift bridge as Ukrainians flee Irpin. AFP

Irina Moprezova, 54, stands in front of a house that was damaged by an air strike in Irpin. AFP

The flags of Russia and Ukraine are projected on the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, which a representative from the Jerusalem Municipality said is a show of support for diplomatic dialogue between the countries. Reuters

A person holds a Ukrainian flag during an anti-war demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier takes cover as people flee Irpin. AFP

Ukrainians shelter in an underground train station during the day in Kyiv. EPA

A Ukrainian serviceman walks carefully with his weapon in the city of Irpin, near Kyiv. AFP

Ukrainian people flee the city of Irpin, north-west of Kyiv. AFP

Ukrainian servicemen carry an elderly woman on a stretcher from the city of Irpin. AFP

A girl plays games on her tablet inside a subway carriage being used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv. AFP

A Ukrainian firefighter drags a hose inside a large food products storage facility which was destroyed by an air strike on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP

Ukrainian troops with a Javelin anti-tank missile on the front line in the northern Kyiv region. Reuters

A woman carries her dog during an evacuation in Irpin. Reuters

A Ukrainian woman takes shelter in a metro station during the day in Kyiv. EPA

A member of the Ukrainian armed forces on patrol in Irpin. Reuters

A Ukrainian fighter takes cover behind a car in the city of Irpin. AFP

Firefighters at work after air strikes hit residential buildings in Chernihiv, northern Ukraine. AFP

A man wounded in an air strike is helped by medical staff in Novoiavorivsk, western Ukraine. Getty

The ruins of the Ukraine Hotel after recent shelling in Chernihiv. EPA

Any Russian retaliation against Nato aircraft could trigger the alliance’s Article 5 mutual defence clause and thereby bring all 30 countries into a direct conflict with Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in turn, has raged at western powers for “giving the green light for further bombing of Ukrainian cities” by refusing to shut out Russian planes.

But Nato foreign ministers rejected a no-fly zone at a summit on March 4, and Ms Smith said it would not be on the table when defence ministers from the alliance’s 30 member states meet in Brussels on Wednesday.

The goal of western powers is “to end this war, to get Russia to leave Ukraine", she said. “We don’t want to expand this conflict.”

Britain has raised the concern that a no-fly zone would impede Ukraine’s resistance by preventing its air force from striking Russian forces.

Poland offered to help those Ukrainian pilots by providing a fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 jets, but this idea too was scotched by Washington, which said the proposed transfer was untenable.

Although the Pentagon said it was up to Poland whether to send jets to Ukraine, it raised concerns about a possible escalation, and Ms Smith said ministers in Warsaw did not have “all of the details adequately sorted”.

She said the US was “continually assessing” whether it could provide more air defence equipment to the country.