You don't declare no fly zones, you create them. You create no fly zones by destroying anything that could harm our planes. There is no "warn Russia that the US will destroy". If you create a no fly zone then you DO destroy.
There is a huge difference between being mad at a sanction and being attacked by a no fly zone. The difference in the Russian's mind would be immeasurably huge. Thus, I think you need to provide some proof to back up your statement that setting up a no fly zone by attacking Russia will not increase the threat of war.
Why would Putin care if we destroy Russia? He is already towards the end of his life. He has no heirs that he admits to having. All he cares about is a legacy that he fought to bring the USSR back. You should not want to be in a battle to the death with someone who doesn't care about death.
Exactly.
According to the media coverage I've seen, they are saying "75% of people in America support enforcing a no-fly zone".
What exactly happens when Russian planes (or anti-aircraft defenses) shoot down the planes that are there to enforce this?
What they should ask these people in these polls, is "Should the U.S. / NATO enforce a no-fly zone, when it could lead to WWIII or possible nuclear attacks?".
Putin is either bluffing big time, or is a complete psychopath. And nobody has any way of knowing which one it is. Like Stalin, he has killed all rivals, silenced his citizens, and has absolute power in Russia at this point. He is a defacto despot at this time.
Of course I want the war in Ukraine to end, but I'm not sitting on the sidelines and cheering for the possibility of the war spreading across Europe and causing tens of millions of deaths, or the annihilation of the human species. Of course if Russia didn't have nuclear missiles, with a despot apparently ready to use them at any moment (depending on what crazy is going on his head at the time), I'd be 100% behind NATO intervening and driving Russia out of the Ukraine.
“All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.” - George Orwell