'We are not part of this': NATO rejects Ukraine no-fly zone

NATO allies rejected Ukraine's demand for no-fly zones on Friday, saying they were increasing support but that stepping in directly would lead to a broader, even more brutal European war, which so far has been limited to Russia's assault on its neighbour.

Ukraine, a former Soviet republic that wants to join the European Union and Western military alliance NATO, is not currently a member of either. Support for Ukraine so far has come mainly in the form of far-reaching sanctions on Russia, with EU members on Friday saying more financial punishment was to come.

"We are not part of this conflict," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference.

"We have a responsibility to ensure it does not escalate and spread beyond Ukraine because that would be even more dangerous, more devastating and would cause even more human suffering."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for Western powers to enforce a no-fly zone since Moscow's invasion started nine days ago, with Russia shelling cities and bringing fighting to Europe's largest nuclear plant.

In a video message earlier on Friday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said NATO foreign ministers should not allow Putin to "turn Ukraine into Syria," in reference to the devastating Russia-backed campaign against rebel cities in that country.

"Act now before it's too late," he said in the message posted on Twitter.

Stoltenberg said NATO understood Ukraine's desperation, calling Russia's war in Ukraine "horrific" and warning the worst was yet to come, with Russia rolling out more heavy arms.

"But we also believe that if we did that [a no-fly zone], we would end up with something that could lead to a full-fledged war in Europe, involving much more countries and much more suffering," Stoltenberg said.

NATO members have been sending arms to Ukraine, but stopped short of military action. Russia and NATO members United States, Britain and France are all nuclear powers.

The only way for NATO to implement a no-fly zone would be to send NATO planes to shoot down Russian ones, Stoltenberg said, adding that the risk of escalation would be too big.

"Allies agree we should not have NATO planes operating over Ukrainian airspace or NATO troops operating in Ukrainian territory," he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the alliance would defend "every inch" of NATO territory from attack.

"Ours is a defensive alliance. We seek no conflict. But if conflict comes to us, we are ready for it," Blinken said.