Ask HN: Does No-Fly zone mean declaring a War with Russia?

Yes, shooting down Russian planes means war with Russia.

I withhold my own opinion, because I'm not an expert. Instead I can give you a link to another non-expert, Scott Alexander[1]. I like how he puts things together.

[1] https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/ukraine-thoughts-and-l...

I have no expertise in the subject, but I assume the weapons stuff can be seen as simple economic relations between the West and Ukraine which is somewhat regulated (like buying food or petrol), whereas shooting down an airplane for them is not - that's a pretty direct war declaration. "Guns don't kill people..." and all that :)

Yes, the thinking is that to actually enforce a no-fly zone would require NATO aircraft to attack Russian aircraft that attempt to violate the zone, thus escalating into a war between NATO and Russia. Supplying weapons or intelligence to Ukraine can be done "under the radar" so to speak, without engaging in actual fighting.

Here's a workaround which can be imposed by UN.

How might this work?

- Using Articles 5 and 6 of the UN Charter, Russia's membership in the UN and, in particular, in the Security Council, should be suspended.

- The UN Security Council could then approve the no-fly-zone according to Article 42 of the UN Charter.

- In accordance with Article 47 of the UN Charter, a Military Staff Committee is established.

- The newly created NFZ coalition is established, under Articles 45 and 49 of the UN Charter.

- The NFZ is designed in a way that can ensure the protection of Ukraine’s airspace and avoid the escalation of military activities on the territory of other states.

There are various ways to implement a no-fly-zone, including the exclusion of hostile aircraft within a clearly defined area. The only operations on the ground would be to suppress enemy air defenses posing a threat to allied aircraft.

https://cepa.org/no-fly-zone-now/