Zelensky calls NATO

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine made another urgent plea for help to President Biden and members of the NATO alliance on Thursday, telling them in a closed-door session that his country was under siege, trapped “in the ‘gray zone’ between the West and Russia,” according to a transcript of his remarks released by the Ukrainian government.

Mr. Zelensky spoke via video link from Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, as alliance members gathered here for the first of three back-to-back summits designed to bolster the world’s unity of opposition to Russia's monthlong invasion of the country.

He argued that NATO should come to Ukraine’s defense even though his country is not a formal member of the defensive alliance set up after World War II.

“Yes, we are not in the alliance. And I do not make these claims. But Ukrainians never thought that the alliance and the allies were different,” he said. He said he understood the position, often expressed by Mr. Biden, that American troops would not be sent to Ukraine to fight directly with Russians.
“I am sure you already understand that Russia does not intend to stop in Ukraine,” he said. “Does not intend and will not. It wants to go further.”

A senior U.S. administration official who watched the address described Mr. Zelensky’s remarks as “eloquent” and noted that Ukraine’s president did not call for a no-fly zone or admission to the NATO alliance.

But Mr. Zelensky did refer to his previous requests for a no-fly zone and did not mince words in his remarks, according to the transcript.

“On Feb. 24, I addressed you with a perfectly clear, logical request to help close our skies,” he said, referring to previous requests for the allies to impose a no-fly zone over his country to keep Russian planes away. “In any format. Protect our people from Russian bombs and missiles. We did not hear a clear answer.”
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