Zelenskyy’s plane ‘almost hit’ by drone while taking off from Moldova, says Norwegian PM
A plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy narrowly avoided a collision with an unidentified drone while taking off from Moldova en route to Oslo to attend the funeral of King Harald V amid the ongoing war with Russia. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre confirmed the incident in an interview with public broadcaster NRK on Wednesday, underscoring the security risks surrounding the Ukrainian president’s movements.
‘Zelenskyy’s plane was almost hit by a drone’
“A drone almost hit his plane as it was taking off from Moldova. That is the reality he is facing,” PM Store told NRK.
Ukrainian authorities have not yet confirmed the incident.
Notably, Zelenskyy safely arrived in Oslo on Tuesday evening following his departure from Moldova to join world leaders and international dignitaries for the royal funeral service after meeting with the Norwegian Prime Minister.
Clarifying the details of the incident, State Secretary Bhanuja Rasiah at the Prime Minister’s Office told NRK that the airspace risk directly impacted the flight’s schedule. “There was a drone threat in the airspace over Moldova yesterday, which delayed Zelenskyy’s flight on its way to Oslo. These are threats he lives with every day. It is uncertain how close the drones were to his plane.” NRK cited him as saying.
Russian drone entered Moldovan?
But a source in the Ukrainian presidency described the claim that Zelensky was at risk as “exaggerated”. “It was an alert in Moldova when a Russian (drone) entered Moldovan and Romanian airspace,” the source told AFP.
Ukraine neighbours both Romania and Moldova, and since Russia’s full invasion in 2022, both countries have reported dozens of drone incidents.
Government spokesman Dumitru Ciorici said Moldova had closed its airspace shortly after 4:30 pm local time on Tuesday afternoon after a Russian drone entered the country from the direction of Ukraine to protect aircraft flying over the country at the time. The airspace closure delayed three departures, including the one carrying Zelenskyy. “The airspace was closed to protect aircraft flying over Moldova at the time: three departures and four arrivals were delayed as a result,” he added.
Moldovan authorities confirmed the drone came down and exploded 160 km from Chisinau International Airport. The airspace restrictions were lifted, and Zelenskyy’s plane took off later than scheduled. “After 1720, the authorities confirmed that the drone had come down and exploded… some 160 kilometres (100 miles) from Chisinau International Airport. Flight restrictions were then lifted. For the same reason, the plane of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took off… later than scheduled.”
Meanwhile, Moldova’s police said explosives experts discovered fragments of the drone that featured a propulsion system and characteristics similar to a Geran-type drone, which Moscow has used extensively in its full-scale war in Ukraine.
“Investigations identified the point of impact, where an explosion occurred and a crater of considerable size was formed,” police said, adding that specialists are continuing investigations “to determine the type and mass of the explosive payload”.
(With ANI, AP, AFP inputs)
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