Ukraine is waiting for the decision of Western partners to close the sky either by other countries’ forces or by fighter aircrafts and air defense.
This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his address on March 7.
"How many more deaths and losses are needed to close the sky over Ukraine? How are civilians in Kharkiv or Mykolayiv different from those in Hamburg or Vienna? We are waiting for the decision. Close the sky. Use the forces you have. Or give us fighter aircrafts and air defense systems which will give us the strength we need. This is the help that the world must provide not just to Ukraine but to themselves to prove that humanity will win as soon as possible," – said the President.
He added that at night occupiers struck Mykolaiv. The enemy fired directly at residential areas with jet artillery.
“They were firing at Kharkiv. At residential districts of a peaceful city. They were firing at other cities of our country. No military sense. Just terror. Residents of Irpin, Bucha, Gostomel, many other cities and towns, settlements, which occupiers managed to invade, are held hostage. Temporarily. Until they will be punished. And they will. Our Armed Forces know how to do it," – the President said.
Earlier, NATO refuses to close the sky because it believes that this will mean the Alliance's entry into the war against Russia. Ukraine has been asking to close the sky since the first day of the war, as Russia continues airstrikes on civilians, peaceful cities, and residential areas. Civilians, including children, have been killed in these attacks.