So this is what I just listened to on NPR
https://theworld.org/stories/2022-03-16/harsh-sanctions-military-support-are-key-ukraines-defense-former-amb-ukraine-saysFormer ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor, who was both ambassador during Obama and later put in on an acting basis during the Trump impeachment, being interviewed by Marco Werman;
Quote
Werman: Zelenskiy's big wish for US involvement is creating that non-fly zone, trying to prevent Russian aircraft from flying over Ukraine. Is closing the airspace above Ukraine realistic?
Taylor: It is realistic, actually. You can do it in several ways. What we've all been thinking about and kind of picturing in our mind is US Air Force or NATO Air Force pilots manning jets above Ukraine. That's one way to do it. But there are other ways to do it. There are weapons systems, the ground-to-air anti-aircraft, anti-ballistic missile, anti-missile defenses — there are lots of different ways to to protect the Ukrainian airspace and to defend against intrusions into the Ukrainian airspace that don't require US Air Force pilots to go over the territory of Ukraine. So, that can be done. And again, that's what President Zelenskiy hinted at. I mean, he kind of recognized — more than hinted — he recognized that it's very difficult and probably impossible for the United States to send its pilots across the border into into Ukraine.
At no point in the 7 minute long segment did Marco Werman take any critical angle or point out how flying American jets with American pilots into dogfights with Russian pilots in Russian jets would be an obvious act of war and immediate cause for World War III.
Taylor left it up to
Zelensky being the one to poo-poo on the suggestion, while Taylor openly championed blowing up the Ruskies in the air and on the ground, and by necessity in their motherland.
Not a single mention of consequences or escalation. Just threw it out there, carried on the interview, went on to more indirect methods of killing Russians by supplying arms, etc etc.