After NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg again rejected Ukraine's request for a no-fly zone, a former NATO supreme commander on Friday supported a humanitarian no-fly zone over the country as Russia continues its military offensive, Fox News reports.

Retired Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove touted the need for such a measure to help Ukrainians.

''At what point does the West determine that we have to do something a little more concrete to aid the Ukrainian people?'' he asked after NATO leaders refused to establish a no-fly zone.

''What is it that we stand for? And what is it that we accept when it comes to Russia destroying a nation and terrorizing a people?'' he added.

Stoltenberg said that while the topic of a no-fly zone was mentioned at Friday's summit, the allies agreed that NATO aircraft should not operate over Ukraine's territory.

''We are not part of this conflict,'' Stoltenberg said in denying Ukraine's request.

''We have a responsibility as NATO allies to prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine because that would be even more dangerous, more devastating and would cause even more human suffering,'' he added.

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

Ukraine wants to join the European Union and NATO, moves that Moscow says threaten its security and influence. Russia has shelled residential areas and civilian infrastructure, and has captured two nuclear sites.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed the move.

''Unfortunately, today there is a complete impression that it is time to give a funeral repast for something else: security guarantees and promises, determination of alliances, values that seem to be dead for someone,'' Zelenskyy said in a televised address late Friday.

''Today there was a NATO summit, a weak summit, a confused summit, a summit where it was clear that not everyone considers the battle for Europe's freedom to be the No. 1 goal.

''Today, the leadership of the alliance gave the green light for further bombing of Ukrainian cities and villages, having refused to set up a no-fly zone.

''All the people who will die starting from this day will also die because of you. Because of your weakness, because of your disunity,'' a furious Zelenskyy said.

''Is this the NATO we wanted? Is this the alliance you were building? ... You will not be able to buy us off with liters of fuel for liters of our blood, shed for our common Europe, for our common freedom, for our common future,'' he added, referring to supplies NATO has delivered to Ukraine.

Earlier Friday, Russian troops that took control of Europe's largest nuclear power plant laid down explosives to ''blackmail'' the entire continent, plant workers warned.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

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