The First Minister has said that Western allies of Ukraine should “not rule out a no-fly zone” in the Eastern European country’s skies, in an interview with ITV Borders.
Nicola Sturgeon as a result has become the first national leader within the UK to break away from the notion that NATO forces can not become directly involved in the conflict against Russia.
The feeling amongst UK leaders had previously been that implementing a no-fly zone would potentially escalate tensions into a full blown conflict with another nuclear power.
But in an interview filmed yesterday, the First Minister can be heard saying that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is not acting in “any way rationally or defensively.”
While she added that she had fears this would escalate into potential conflict between NATO and Russia, she believed that the move should not be ruled out.
During the interview, Sturgeon said: "I think the west has to keep its mind open to every way in which Ukraine can be helped, so I think getting whatever military support and military equipment that Ukraine needs has to be a priority and I would hope that we would see a solution found.”
She added: "I understand and share the concerns about a direct military confrontation between Russia and Nato that a no-fly zone may lead to.
"I understand that. Nobody wants to see an escalation of that nature.
"But on the other hand, Putin is not acting in any way rationally or defensively and we have a situation right now where perhaps the only thing nuclear weapons are deterring is the ability to properly and directly help Ukraine.
"All of these things must be considered on a daily basis.
"The world cannot stand by and watch Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty be extinguished.
"That would be morally wrong from Ukraine’s perspective, but the implications of that for the rest of us in terms of the values we hold dear would be severe too.”
“UK has been out in front on missiles”
However UK prime minister Boris Johnson said to the Daily Mail yesterday that creating a no-fly zone was not on any western country's agenda and he said that: “When you are talking about a no-fly zone, I think it is very important for everyone involved to understand that involves UK pilots and planes being given orders to shoot down Russian fighter jets.”
He insisted that the UK had been “out in front on missiles” and reiterated that the UK government was doing everything it could to support Ukrainian president Zelensky outside of a no-fly zone.
NATO members have been sceptical about offering direct military support outside of weapons and logistics in the fear that it could spark a nuclear conflict with Russia.
However Zelensky stated late last night that the latest Russian attack on a maternity hospital in Mauripol signalled a “genocide” against the Ukrainian people and he reiterated his calls for Western powers to offer to either close off the Ukrainian sky or to offer planes so that Ukraine could do it themselves.
