Russian drone alert delayed Zelensky’s departure for Norway, Moldova says
By Reuters
Oslo, Norway (Reuters) — The departure from Moldova of a plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Norway was delayed when authorities closed the country’s airspace over a drone alert, a Moldovan government spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The president’s aircraft was cleared for take-off on Tuesday once it had been established that a Russian drone had come down on Moldovan territory, the spokesperson said in a written statement to Reuters.
Three departures and four arrivals were delayed while Moldovan airspace was closed.
Two Russian drones entered Moldovan airspace, officials said on Tuesday. One landed in a field north of the capital, triggering a fire, while the second carried on into Romanian airspace.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu denounced the drone intrusions as a “serious threat to people’s lives” and condemned a Russian drone attack on a border crossing with Ukraine that killed two people.
Moldova’s ambassador to the US told CNN’s Jim Sciutto the incident was likely “not an accident.”
“Most likely this is not an accident because we do not believe in jet propelled drones just flying into Moldova’s territory for surveillance purposes while [the] Ukrainian president’s airplane is on the ground at the airport,” Vladislav Kulminski told CNN.
Asked whether Moldovan authorities believe the drone was targeting the Ukrainian president, he said an investigation was ongoing and it was “too early to say.” However, he added that it is well known that Zelensky uses Moldovan airspace for his foreign visits and “this is probably not the first time that something like this happened.”
The Kremlin has not commented.
Zelensky was traveling to Oslo for the funeral of the king of Norway at the time.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told public broadcaster NRK on Wednesday that Zelensky’s plane had nearly been struck by a drone.
“His plane was almost hit by a drone as it was about to take off from Moldova. That is the reality he is facing,” said Støre, who did not say what his source was for the information or how close the drone came.
Zelensky attended the funeral of King Harald V of Norway on Wednesday, marching behind his coffin along with other heads of state in central Oslo. He left Norway soon after the funeral was over.
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