Russia warns NATO against establishing no-fly zone over Ukraine

Russia would consider NATO forces protecting Ukrainian airspace as a declaration of war, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday.

"Implementing the provocative idea of Kiev and other idiots to create a no-fly zone over 'Ukraine' and allowing NATO countries to down our drones will mean only one thing: NATO's war with Russia," the politician wrote on his Telegram channel.

After a slew of Russian drones violated Polish airspace last week, NATO deployed additional fighter jets along its eastern flank. That prompted fresh discussion in Europe about extending protection to western Ukraine and shooting down incoming Russian drones or missiles there.

Since the start of the large-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine has been calling for a NATO-enforced no-fly zone. But Kiev's Western allies have so far refrained from such a step, fearing a direct military confrontation with Moscow.

Medvedev, who now wields significant power in Russia as deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, also threatened retaliation if Russia's state assets frozen in the European Union were paid out to Ukraine as a part of a reparations loan.

Moscow, he wrote, would pursue the responsible EU states and politicians "in all possible international and national courts — and in some cases, outside of them."