Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Congress Wednesday, making a desperate plea for the aid he believes Ukraine needs to stave off the Russian invasion. Some of his demands, rather than putting an end to war and saving lives, would exacerbate it and lead to more death. Congress should say no to Zelensky’s demands.

It’s somewhat natural, I suppose, for a leader of a country under attack to pull out all the stops and make every appeal imaginable to get the aid he thinks his country needs. In his speech to Congress, Zelensky said that Ukraine has experienced what the United States did during Pearl Harbor and 9/11 “every night for three weeks.” He implored Congress to “remember the national memorial Mount Rushmore,” like he does. “The faces of your prominent presidents, those who laid the foundation of the United States of America. Democracy, independence, freedom… Ladies and gentlemen, Americans, in your great history you would understand Ukrainians. Understand us now. We need you right now.”

Of course, the Russians have disseminated their fair share of wartime propaganda, but the West is already predisposed to distrust whatever is coming out of the Kremlin. The West lacks this disposition when it comes to propaganda spread by the Ukrainian side, however, which is something Zelensky and the Ukrainian government has used to its full advantage. The “Ghost of Kiev,” claims of 11,000 killed Russian soldiers in just 11 days of fighting, or that the Russians were trying to destabilize nuclear material in Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia, are examples of when the Ukrainians have lied—or at least greatly overstated the truth—with the hope of eliciting an emotional response from the West that precipitates more Ukrainian aid.

Zelensky also invoked Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, not to advocate for peace and harmony but a no-fly zone, more military aid, and increased sanctions. “I have a dream. I have a need. I need to protect our skies. I need your help, which means the same you feel when you hear the words I have a dream.”

“We are asking for an answer to this terror from the world. Is that a lot to ask? To create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people. Is this too much to ask? A no-fly zone. Russia would not be able to terrorize our cities,” Zelensky said just prior to his homage to MLK. I’ve already written extensively about why putting a no-fly zone over Ukraine is impractical and would likely lead to all out war between NATO and Russia. Zelensky either thinks losing a NATO pilot or two would not result in the invocation of Article 5, or at this point believes that an all out war between NATO and Russia is the only path Ukraine has at recapturing its lost territory. In either scenario, the Ukrainian president is likely wrong.

If a no-fly zone “is too much to ask, we offer an alternative,” Zelensky said. “You know what kind of defense systems we need. You know how much depends on the ability to use aircraft to protect our people, our freedom. Aircraft that can help Ukraine, help Europe. We know they exist and you have them. They are not in Ukrainian skies.” The only problem is they’re not in American hangars either, if Zelensky is suggesting the United States should give them some more MiG-29s.

Previously, a deal between Poland and the United States fell through that would have given Ukraine some of Poland’s MiG-29s in exchange for the U.S. replacing those MiGs with F-16s. If such a deal was enacted, it would likely intensify the bloodshed, given the Russian Ministry of Defense has already warned that nations who give the Ukrainians more fighter jets or access to airfields “could be considered as those countries’ engagement in the military conflict.” Furthermore, because of Russia’s aerial dominance and repositioned anti-air assets, transferring more MiG-29s to the Ukrainians would offer little long-term advantage. It wouldn’t be long before Ukraine came back asking for more.

The reality is that Zelensky’s alternative offer is just as impractical as the first.

Towards the end of his speech, Zelensky transitioned to English, and directly addressed President Joe Biden. “You are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.”

I, too, hope Biden is a leader of peace, which is why the president and Congress should not give Zelensky what he wants.