Latest News by Industry
• The Ukrainian President invoked Pearl Harbour and 9/11 to describe Russia's attack
• Zelenskyy requested the US to provide military support to Ukraine
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy virtually addressed the US Congress on Wednesday and stressed the need to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
Zelenskyy invoked the Pearl Harbour and 9/11 catastrophe to describe the situation in Ukraine, asking Americans to imagine themselves in place of Ukrainians.
"Remember September the 11th, a terrible day in 2001 when evil tried to turn your cities, independent territories on battlefields, when innocent people were attacked from the air. Yes, just like no one else expected it, you could not stop it.
"Our country experiences the same thing every day, right now at this moment, every night for three weeks now various Ukrainian cities -- Mariupol and Kharkiv -- Russia has turned the Ukrainian skies into a source of death for thousands of people," he said in his emotional address to US lawmakers.
No-fly zone
The Ukrainian President played a three-minute graphic video of the violence in Ukraine, which included images of dying children, with a message to "close the skies over Ukraine."
He requested a no-fly zone over Ukraine. "Humanitarian no-fly zone, something that Ukraine, that Russia would not be able to terrorize our free cities," he said.
A no-fly zone would mean that all or certain aircraft types would be prohibited from flying through designated airspace over a country or region. Implementing a no-fly zone requires the consensus of one or more parties being ready and able to shoot down any aircraft violating the space.
US and NATO officials have rejected Ukraine's request for a no-fly zone. Officials say that their own jets would have to be prepared to shoot down any Russian violators, making them direct participants in the war.
The Guardian reported that Russia has relied mostly on long-range missiles and surface artillery fire to attack Ukrainian targets. Fighting back, the Ukrainians have depended largely on ground fire. So the implementation of a no-fly zone wouldn't have any particular effect on the strikes. However, Zelenskyy stresses it is integral to Ukrainians safety.
(With Inputs from The Guardian and ABC News)