Ukrainian President Zelensky suggests NATO directly enter the war

Interview with the newspaperNew York Times, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the United States and its NATO allies should directly enter the war and take on the role of air defense forces to prevent Russian airstrikes, while providing more weapons to give the Ukrainian army more advantages on the battlefield.

Mr. Zelensky's statement was made on the last day of his presidential term on May 20, however, due to the conflict with Russia, the election process was postponed.

According to Mr. Zelensky, NATO is completely capable of intercepting Russian missiles in the sky over Kiev, and believes that Western allies are too scared of concerns about a direct military confrontation with Moscow.

“What is the problem here? Why can’t we shoot them down? Is this a legitimate act of self-defense? Is this an attack on Russian territory?” Mr. Zelensky told the New York Times.

The Ukrainian president said that NATO's role as air defense force in Kiev does not pose any direct threat to Russian aircraft or Russian pilots. It cannot push NATO countries into a war with Moscow.

Mr. Zelensky also recalled that the US and UK had supported Israel in preventing an Iranian missile attack last April, although NATO has repeatedly said that the two situations were completely different.

The Ukrainian leader also asked NATO to provide at least seven more Patriot air defense systems and hoped that this proposal would be implemented before the upcoming NATO summit in Washington.

Mr Zelensky also rejected any criticism of Ukrainian democracy, introducing the indefinite postponement of parliamentary and presidential elections, by declaring that Kiev “does not need to prove anything about democracy to anyone, because Ukraine and its people are proving it through the current war”.

The above statements were made by the Ukrainian leader in the context of Russian troops advancing along the front line from the Donbass region to Kharkov. Not only Mr. Zelensky but also the military commanders of Ukraine also called for NATO to increase aid, especially Patriot air defense systems and F-16 fighter jets, and also requested to lift restrictions on the use of Western-made weapons to be able to strike deep inside Russia.