The plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Norway was delayed in Moldova on Tuesday after authorities temporarily closed the country’s airspace following a drone alert, while Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said the aircraft was nearly struck by a drone as it prepared to take off.
“His plane was almost hit by a drone as it was about to take off from Moldova. That is the reality he is facing,” Stoere told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK on Wednesday. He did not disclose the source of the information or say how close the drone came to the aircraft.
A Moldovan government spokesperson said the closure of the country’s airspace delayed Zelenskiy’s departure. In a statement, the spokesperson said the president’s aircraft was cleared for take-off once authorities established that a Russian drone had come down on Moldovan territory.
The incident occurred as two Russian drones entered Moldovan airspace on Tuesday, disrupting operations at Chisinau airport. Several flights bound for the capital were diverted to airports outside Moldova or forced into holding patterns, according to Flightradar24 data.
One of the drones came down in a field and triggered a fire, while the other continued into Romanian airspace, Reuters reported.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu described the airspace incursions as a “serious threat to people’s lives”.
The Moldovan government has warned in recent weeks of an increase in Russian drone incursions as Moscow intensifies its aerial campaign against Ukraine.
Moldova’s prime minister said on Wednesday that such incursions had increased significantly.
The wider threat has also spilt across Moldova’s border. Russian drones struck a Ukrainian border crossing near Moldova on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding three, according to Ukrainian officials.
The attack halted traffic at the crossing and came as Russia stepped up strikes on Ukrainian logistics routes.
Zelenskiy was travelling to Oslo to attend the funeral of Norway’s King Harald V, who died on August 28 aged 89.
He attended the funeral on Wednesday alongside other heads of state and left Norway shortly afterwards.
Stoere had said before Zelenskiy’s arrival that he would meet the Ukrainian president to discuss Ukraine’s urgent need for air defence and other military support as Russia continues its missile and drone attacks.
Zelenskiy also planned talks with companies involved in the Freyja initiative, a European project to develop an anti-ballistic missile defence system.
The Norwegian prime minister’s account of the near-miss has not been independently corroborated.
Moldovan authorities have confirmed the airspace closure and drone incident but have not publicly provided details confirming how close the drone came to Zelenskiy’s aircraft.
