Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s corporate jet was threatened by a drone as he prepared to fly from Moldova to Oslo, according to Norway’s prime minister.
“His plane was almost hit by a drone as it took off in Moldova. That’s his reality,” Jonas Gahr Støre told local broadcaster NRK on Wednesday.
Støre did not provide further details on the incident. Nor did he mention the distance between the drone and Zelenskyy’s plane.
The Ukrainian president flew from Moldova on Tuesday evening to attend King Harald of Norway’s funeral, before flying to Ottawa to meet with Canadian leaders.
Moldovan authorities said that a drone had entered their country’s airspace on Tuesday via the Ukrainian border, adding that preliminary data showed the uncrewed aerial vehicle was a Shahed — Russia’s main attack drone. This Shahed entered Moldova twice in the late afternoon, said officials who temporarily closed the country’s airspace.
The time of the Shahed’s entry, at about 4.20 p.m., matches when Zelenskyy would have been preparing to fly to Oslo.
The Kremlin can launch hundreds of Shaheds and decoy drones at Ukraine in a single day, some of which have been documented wandering into nearby countries, such as Poland and Romania.
NATO has accused Russia of intentionally sending the drones to Eastern Europe to test its reaction to such potential threats. Moscow denies having any such plans.
Moldova’s government told Reuters on Wednesday that Zelenskyy’s plane was cleared for take-off after the drones exited its airspace.
The Ukrainian president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.
A separate public statement by officials said the Shahed drone had also initially flown into Romania before returning to Moldovan airspace. It eventually crashed in the northwestern district of Glodeni.
No casualties were reported, though the crash started a fire, officials said.
