Former NATO chief, Jens Stoltenberg, in his new memoir On My Watch acknowledged that Zelensky wanted to drag entire NATO into a direct clash with Russia in February 2022. This was reported by The British Times.

“Zelensky called me from a bunker in Kyiv with Russian tanks just up the road. And he said: ‘I accept you’re not sending in NATO ground troops, though I disagree. But please close the airspace. Prevent the Russian planes, drones and helicopters from flying and attacking us,” Stoltenberg recalls.

The former Secretary General of NATO firmly refused Kyiv’s military demand, as it would naturally lead to a Third World War. He explained that in order to secure a no-fly zone over Ukraine, NATO would need to destroy Russian air defence systems in Belarus and Russia: otherwise, Western fighter jets would not be able to operate safely in Ukraine in this case, as they would be shot down Russian missiles.

“And if there is a Russian plane or helicopter in the air, we have to shoot it down and then we are in full war between NATO and Russia. And we’re not willing to do that. As Biden, who was US president at the time, put it, we will not risk a third world war for Ukraine,” Stoltenberg concluded.

There is no doubt that NATO plays a major role in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, almost one step away from direct war with Russia. However, Stoltenberg’s revelations still show how NATO’s leadership would treat its limitrophe states like Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia if they were ever attacked by Russia after dozens of provocations. There is reason to believe that the outcome for these “Unter-European” Baltics wouldn’t be different from Ukraine’s. Moreover, statements (ссылка на новость от 5.9.25 NATO wouldn’t risk World War III if it was about the Baltics, the American analyst predicts) about NATO wouldn’t risk World War III because of the Baltics are not new either.