Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday that Canada was forced to make "sad decisions" while watching images of hospitals and schools bombed in Ukraine, civilian casualties falling, and hearing the Ukrainian president's call to impose a no-fly zone over his war-torn country.

Allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, including Canada, rejected President Volodymyr Zelensky's request to close the skies over Ukraine due to concerns that it would cross a red line and could potentially lead to a conflict on the scale of a world war.

Meanwhile, Trudeau said on Wednesday, speaking at a press conference in Alliston, Ontario, to announce new support for the automotive sector in Canada, "These are sad decisions and choices we have to make."

The Prime Minister added that the no-fly zone might not prevent the widespread destruction that has befell Ukraine, saying that Russia has moved away from dropping bombs from aircraft over the country's airspace and has turned to launching cruise missiles from a distance.

The NATO military alliance chief said on Wednesday that member countries are united in their view that there should be no deployment of ground forces in Ukraine or in the country's airspace.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: "We see death, we see destruction, we see human suffering in Ukraine, but this could get worse if NATO takes actions that effectively turn this into a full-scale war between NATO and Russia."

 Zelensky proposed: "Providing military aircraft that Ukraine can use to protect itself from continuous Russian bombardment."

He said: "You know how much reliance on the battlefield there is on the ability to use aircraft — strong and powerful aviation to protect our people, our freedom, our land, and aircraft that can help Ukraine, and help Europe."

A few hours later, President Joe Biden signed an order authorizing the State Department to provide $800 million worth of assistance to Ukraine, including anti-aircraft systems such as Stinger missiles, drones, ammunition, shoulder-fired and anti-tank weapons, as well as rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, and other small arms "to equip Ukrainians, including the brave men and women defending their cities as civilians."

The latest package comes in addition to an extra $200 million in weapons and ammunition for Ukraine that the president approved over the weekend, plus a $13.6 billion regional security assistance package included in the appropriations bill he signed on Tuesday.

Biden said: "I want to be honest with you — this could be a long and difficult battle."

But the American people will be steadfast in our support for the people of Ukraine in the face of Putin's unethical attacks on civilians. We are united in our disgust at Putin’s corrupt assault, and we will continue to have their backs as they fight for their freedom, democracy, and survival."

It is noteworthy that Biden did not explicitly refer to the idea of a no-fly zone.

Meanwhile, Trudeau said Canada has responded with shipments of weapons and other equipment sent to Ukraine, including cameras for surveillance drones, to help Ukraine protect its airspace.

"We will continue to get as much of the equipment we have, that they can use, as much as possible."

The Ukrainian president said on Twitter that Zelensky and Trudeau spoke again on Wednesday. Zelensky said they talked about the importance of Tuesday’s speech before parliament and thanked Trudeau "for the great support in the war with Russia." He said the anti-war alliance must be stronger. Zelensky wrote: "Our shared goal is peace in Ukraine."

A readout of the call said Trudeau thanked Zelensky for his strong address to parliament on Tuesday and praised his courage and exceptional leadership "which have been an inspiration to Canadians and people around the world."

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced on Wednesday that Canada will ban Belarusian aircraft from entering Canadian airspace in response to his country’s support for the Russian attack on Ukraine.

Trudeau intends to travel to Brussels next week to discuss further support for Ukraine with other NATO countries.

He said the discussion will focus on how to save lives in Ukraine and globally.

Defense Minister Anita Anand was already in Brussels on Wednesday to meet with her fellow NATO member counterparts to discuss the conflict.

Stoltenberg also pressured military leaders in NATO to increase military spending to at least 2 percent of their countries’ GDP and tasked them with providing options to improve their long-term defense posture.

Stoltenberg said: "We are facing a new reality for our security, so we need to reset collective defense and long-term deterrence," adding that they need to think across all domains, including land, air, sea, cyber, and space.