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The White House said Wednesday that it continues to stand in opposition to a no-fly zone over Ukraine as the country fights back against Russia, suggesting the move would have repercussions that would send the United States into World War 3.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s requested during an address to Congress Wednesday that the U.S. agree to a no-fly zone over his country. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration is “not interested in getting into World War III.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC. on March 16, 2022. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
Psaki said Biden watched Zelenskyy’s address to Congress from his private library and found his remarks to be “passionate” and “powerful.”
WHITE HOUSE INSISTS NO-FLY ZONE OVER UKRAINE ‘COULD PROMPT A WAR WITH RUSSIA’
“We are in very close touch with the Ukrainians. Nothing that he asked for or said today was a surprise in that sense. If we were President Zelenskyy, we would be asking for everything possible as well,” Psaki said. “He is watching his country and his people be attacked and brutalized by President Putin and the Russian military.”
“But, how President Biden makes decisions is through the prism of our own national security and as we have said before, a no-fly zone would require implementation, it would require us potentially shooting down Russian planes, NATO shooting down Russian planes, and we are not interested in getting into World War 3.”
Psaki was also questioned on Zelenskyy’s distinction of a “humanitarian no-fly zone” and a “blanket no-fly zone” and asked whether the administration views those as being the same thing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivers a virtual address to Congress by video at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (Drew Angerer, Pool via AP)
“There have been descriptions of both of those over the past couple of weeks and sometimes a humanitarian – and I don’t want to put words in his mouth – but a humanitarian no-fly zone can be specific geography or parts of western Ukraine whereas a no-fly zone sometimes people refer to it as the totality of the country,” Psaki said. “In our view and in the view of the military there’s not a difference in terms of the implementation and the escalatory impact.”
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On Tuesday, Psaki said Biden “continues to believe that a no-fly zone would be escalatory” and “could prompt a war with Russia.”
Two dozen current and former military and intelligence officials have signed an open letter calling for the Biden administration to enact a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
“We, the undersigned, urge the Biden administration, together with NATO allies, to impose a limited No-Fly Zone over Ukraine starting with protection for humanitarian corridors that were agreed upon in talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials on Thursday,” stated the letter, which Farkas and others signed. “NATO leaders should convey to Russian officials that they do not seek direct confrontation with Russian forces, but they must also make clear that they will not countenance Russian attacks on civilian areas.”
Ukrainian officials have called on the international community to enact a no-fly zone over their country in the hopes that it would prevent Russian planes from providing material support for their forces and discontinue the bombings of civilian areas.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC. on March 16, 2022. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
Asked by Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich to discuss why the administration considers “MiGs as provocative and Javelins and Stingers as not provocative,” Psaki said “planes are offensive weapons.”
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“Javelins and Stingers are defensive weapons,” Psaki said. “MiGs, or planes, are offensive weapons, which are a different type of military system.”
Responding to a question from Fox News on Wednesday, Biden said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “war criminal.”
“The president’s remarks speak for themselves, he was speaking from his heart and from what he has seen on television,” Psaki said.
Fox News’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this article.