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A plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from Moldova to Norway was delayed on September 8 after Moldovan authorities temporarily closed the country’s airspace because of a Russian drone incursion.
According to the Moldovan government, the aircraft was cleared to take off after authorities confirmed that the Russian drone had crashed on Moldovan territory. The incident caused delays to three departing and four arriving flights.
Moldovan authorities said two Russian drones had entered the country’s airspace. One crashed in a field in northern Moldova and caused several fires, while another continued into Romanian airspace before later re-entering Moldova.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre later said Zelenskyy’s plane had nearly been hit by a drone while preparing to take off from Moldova. He did not provide details on how close the drone came to the aircraft or the source of his information.
Zelenskyy was traveling to Oslo for the funeral of Norway’s King Harald V. He attended the ceremony alongside other heads of state and left Norway shortly afterward.
The incident adds to growing concerns over the threat posed by Russian drones to civilian aviation in Moldova and neighboring countries. Moldovan police later identified fragments at the crash site as resembling a Geran-type drone, widely used by Russia in its war against Ukraine.
