FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 16, 2022
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Ukrainian President Zelensky delivered a virtual address to the U.S. Congress, requesting a no-fly zone and more military aid for Ukraine. Defense Priorities Policy Director Benjamin H. Friedman issued the following statement in response:
“Ukrainian President Zelensky and his country are in a terrible situation, with their cities under Russian assault. Outgunned, he naturally wants all the help he can get. The desire to assist Ukraine is also understandable—and the United States has helped, with military aid that has proved quite effective, and with sanctions, which have slammed the Russian economy, even though Ukraine is not a U.S. ally. But a no-fly zone would mean U.S. forces going to war with Russia, pitting two nuclear arsenals against each other. Avoiding nuclear war is the paramount U.S. security interest, and even a modest increase in risk comes with potentially grave consequences. No responsible leader would put U.S. forces into combat with Russia absent a vital U.S. security interest.
“What the United States can do is continue financial support for Ukraine; continue sending defensive arms and intelligence sharing, which is likely robust; and provide more support for the millions of Ukrainian refugees this war has created. Most of all, we can help Ukraine by lending support to diplomatic efforts to end the war, unsatisfying as they may be, including by promising to end sanctions on Russia in exchange for their withdrawal and undergirding Ukrainian offers to be neutral by agreeing to keep them out of NATO.”
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