A “limited no-fly zone” over Ukraine would protect established humanitarian corridors for those fleeing the country and “deter Russian bombardment” to protect civilians, says an open letter to the Biden administration from 27 foreign policy experts.
In the letter, obtained by Politico, the experts urge 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.”
“What we seek is the deployment of American and NATO aircraft not in search of confrontation with Russia but to avert and deter Russian bombardment that would result in massive loss of Ukrainian lives,” add the signatories, who include Daniel Fried, a former Assistant Secretary of State, Paula Dobriansky, former Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, Eric S. Edelman, former Under Secretary of Defense, and Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution and Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University.
“The refrain ‘never again’ emerged in the wake of the Holocaust, and Ukrainians are wondering whether that pledge applies to them,” the group wrote. “It is time for the United States and NATO to step up their help for Ukrainians before more innocent civilians fall victim to Putin’s murderous madness,” they add in the letter, initiated by U.S.-Ukraine Foundation co-founder Robert McConnell, according to Politico Playbook.
Other signatories include former NATO supreme allied commander Gen. Philip Breedlove, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor and former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker.
