A Russian drone entered Moldovan airspace on September 8 as President Volodymyr Zelensky’s plane was preparing to depart Chisinau for Oslo, forcing a temporary halt to departures and prompting Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to say the aircraft was “nearly hit.” Ukrainian officials have since pushed back on that characterization, calling the danger to Zelensky “exaggerated.”
Moldova’s Defense Ministry said it detected an unmanned aircraft entering from the direction of Ukraine at around 4:20 p.m. local time on September 8. Air surveillance tracked the drone for roughly 17 minutes before it exited Moldovan airspace toward Iasi County in neighboring Romania. Moldovan authorities closed the airspace during the alert, delaying Zelensky’s departure until officials confirmed the drone had left the area.
What did Norway’s prime minister actually say?
Speaking to Norwegian broadcaster NRK on September 9, Støre said Zelensky’s plane “was nearly hit by a drone as it was taking off from Moldova,” framing the episode as evidence of the risks Zelensky faces while traveling abroad. Støre did not cite a specific source for his account or describe how close the drone came to the aircraft, and his office later said the actual proximity between the drone and the plane remained unknown.
A source in the Ukrainian presidency offered a more measured account to AFP, describing the episode as “an alert in Moldova, when a Russian drone entered the airspace of Moldova and Romania,” and said characterizations of Zelensky having been in danger were overstated. Ukraine’s government has not issued an official statement confirming that the president’s plane came under direct threat.
Moldova has repeatedly reported Russian drones straying into its airspace and that of Romania during strikes on Ukraine’s Odesa region, which borders both countries. Chisinau’s government confirmed the September 8 drone activity forced the airspace closure but did not independently verify how close any drone came to Zelensky’s aircraft.
Why was Zelensky traveling through Moldova?
Zelensky was en route to Oslo to attend the funeral of Norway’s King Harald V, held September 9 in the Norwegian capital. He landed safely in Oslo and met with Støre, Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide before joining other heads of state at the funeral. Russia’s Foreign Ministry has not issued a public response to the reports of the drone incident.
The episode adds to a string of Russian drone incursions into the airspace of Moldova and Romania, both NATO-adjacent states that have scrambled jets and closed airports multiple times this year as Russian strikes on southern and western Ukraine continue.
Sources: Kyiv Independent · Al Jazeera · CBS News
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