As early as 2022, Ukrainians called to "close the sky over Ukraine," but after russian drones struck Poland, Warsaw began considering the idea. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said it's worth thinking about, adding that any decision must be made together with allies, through NATO or the EU.
From Defense Express'perspective, this is primarily a political issue. The chances of all NATO or EU members agreeing are minimal. The fewer countries with real capabilities involved, the more realistic the plan. For example, if the mission were undertaken solely by the UK, France, and Germany, it would be far more feasible, with other nations possibly joining later.
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Beyond the political side, the issue is purely technical: how would allies shoot down russian UAVs and missiles over Ukraine? Ground air defense is unlikely, and basing fighters inside Ukraine should not even be considered.
Essentially, what remains is an air patrol within the effective range of fighters based at NATO's eastern flank airbases. This means initially positioning F-16s, F-35s, Rafales, and Eurofighters at Polish airfields.
In practice, this shouldn't pose major problems, as NATO maintains a permanent air policing mission in Poland, with various Alliance fighters regularly stationed at Polish bases.
For example, in August, German Eurofighters were based at the 23rd Polish Air Base in Mińsk Mazowiecki, just 160 km from the Ukrainian border, although the base normally hosts Polish FA-50s.
Fighters departing from this base can reach Volyn Oblast in Ukraine within 15 minutes without using afterburners. From there, they could begin patrolling using data from a long-range surveillance aircraft hovering over Poland. The effective coverage and patrol duration typically several hours, depending on fighter type and flight profile would be key in determining which parts of Ukraine can be patrolled.
However, another crucial issue must first be addressed: coordination between partners and Ukraine to prevent friendly fire. This could be achieved by creating a no-fly zone for Ukrainian forces, where only European fighters operate.
This means that actual patrol zones and operations would be quite limited and should not, even theoretically, cover entire regions of Ukraine. Realistically, one should not expect more. From a purely technical standpoint, all that is required is to expand the existing NATO air patrol over specific border areas of Ukraine. With proper coordination with Ukraine, this is indeed feasible, leaving political aspects aside.
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