Former NATO Chief Stoltenberg on “No-Fly Zone” for Ukraine in New Memoir: Biden Did Not Want to Go to War Over Ukraine

Former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he refused President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s February 2022 plea to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine because it risked direct war between NATO and Russia, according to The Sunday Times on November 8. 

Stoltenberg recounted that Zelenskyy called him from a bunker in Kyiv as Russian forces advanced and asked NATO to “close the airspace,” noting the alliance had enforced no-fly zones in past conflicts.

He said doing so over Ukraine would have required striking Russian air defenses in Belarus and Russia and, if necessary, shooting down Russian aircraft—steps that would have brought NATO into the war. 

Read more

Category

War in Ukraine

Ukraine Is Purchasing Swedish Gripen E Fighter Jets And Building Its Own Air Fleet Of 100–150 Aircraft

Oct 22, 2025 20:46

“It was extremely painful to end that phone call, knowing that his life was in danger,” Stoltenberg said, adding that the alliance would not “risk a third world war for Ukraine,” a phrase he attributed to then-US President Joe Biden. 

Reflecting on the alliance’s broader approach, Stoltenberg said support for Kyiv before the full-scale invasion was “too little, too late,” arguing that earlier and stronger military assistance after Russia’s 2014 seizure of Crimea might have deterred the Russian leader from escalating in 2022.

He maintained, however, that avoiding direct NATO involvement while supplying weapons and ammunition to Ukraine was the correct course. 

Earlier, it was reported that Polish MiG-29s intercepted a third Russian aircraft in a week over the Baltic Sea as part of NATO’s air policing mission, underscoring continued Russian military probing near alliance airspace.

On the Frontline of Truth

Our reporters risk their lives to show what’s really happening in Ukraine. Your support keeps them safe, equipped, and reporting.

SUPPORT FRONTLINE REPORTS