The Seventh Estate
That Won't Fly

Nathan Pentland

On the 24th of February, 2022, the Russian army invaded Ukraine in an attempt to “keep Ukraine neutral”. In the three weeks since the invasion, the Ukrainian army and citizens somewhat have successfully held off the invasion, but their president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that to further protect the Ukrainian people, NATO needs to put in place a no-fly zone. Why won’t NATO put this measure in place? Find out now on this edition of The Seventh Estate.


What, exactly, is a no-fly zone? In this situation, if a no-fly zone is put in place, NATO aircraft would protect the airspace over the country, attacking any unauthorized aircraft that enter. This tactic is often used against countries with smaller air forces such as Iraq, Libya and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This tactic could work, although Russia has a large airforce and has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world.

Also, I should probably explain what NATO is. NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was formed after World War 2 to provide security for different countries by working together in the event of another worldwide altercation. There are already 30 countries in NATO and there are three countries that currently want to join: Ukraine, Georgia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. (By the way, Bosnia and Herzegovina is actually only one country.)


Nato is very reluctant to impose the NFZ because it could spark a much larger war. According to University of British Columbia professor, Allen Sens, “The NFZ [no-fly zone] could start a wider war and engulf us all.” By saying this, Dr. Sens means that the NFZ would force NATO to target Russian aircraft, so their AA (anti-aircraft) guns would attack NATO’s aircraft, thus forcing NATO to attack the guns, therefore attacking Russian controlled land, making this a full scale war. Obviously this would be dangerous as Russia has many nuclear weapons and may start using chemical weapons as well. Finally, to retaliate against the NFZ, Russia might attack some non-NATO countries such as Moldova or Georgia.

The attacks on Ukraine are getting more intense as Russia seems to be seeing how far it can go until the NFZ is imposed. Obviously, the attacks on the country are creating more support for the creation of the NFZ. On March 15th and 16, 2022, Zelenskyy held conferences with Canada and the United States, in both of which Zelenskyy received a standing ovation. It’s not just Zelenskyy that wants the NFZ, it’s his people too. One Ukrainian woman said, “It is for the good of our children and our families.”


As this war rages on, we have to remember the good citizens of Ukraine who are taking up arms to assist their fellow citizens and troops in protecting their home. As a reminder, there are multiple charities that are helping the people of Ukraine. Also, as the war continues, the western countries are putting more and more sanctions on Russia. This means that gas and wheat are among the commodities whose already high prices continue to rise.

This is an evolving topic and we don’t know how it will play out in the future, but whatever decision is made, it will have major implications. Thanks for reading. This has been The Seventh Estate.

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