Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre says a suspected Russian attack drone came close to hitting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's aircraft as it prepared for take-off in Moldova on Tuesday, the Telegraph reported.
Zelenskyy had been en route to Oslo for the funeral of Norway's King Harald V when Moldovan authorities grounded his flight on Tuesday afternoon.
According to the Telegraph, Støre told public broadcaster NRK: "His plane was almost hit by a drone as it was about to take off from Moldova. That is the reality he is facing." Støre added: "I asked how the night had gone, and he said it hadn't been a good night, as he had spent it on the phone receiving news about where the missiles had struck. So that's the real reality he's in and he has to travel around and work to get that support."
Claims that Zelenskyy had faced immediate danger were later dismissed by Ukrainian presidential sources as "exaggerated". One source explained, "It was an alert in Moldova when a Russian drone entered Moldovan and Romanian airspace."
The incident unfolded hours after a 72-hour truce between Moscow and Kyiv, aimed at halting strikes on each other's capitals, had expired. The truce had been intended to shield US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff as they conducted peace talks. Despite the agreement, Russia continued with its deadly bombardments elsewhere in Ukraine.
Moldovan government spokesman Dumitru Ciorici told the Telegraph that the country had shut its airspace shortly after 4:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. BST), after radar detected a jet-powered Russian weapon approaching from Ukraine.
"The airspace was closed to protect aircraft flying over Moldova at the time: three departures and four arrivals were delayed as a result. After 5.20pm, the authorities confirmed that the drone had come down and exploded ... some 160 kilometres from Chisinau International Airport, " said Ciorici.
"Flight restrictions were then lifted," he continued, adding, "for the same reason, the plane of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky took off... later than scheduled."
Flight-tracking data placed the drone crossing from Ukraine into Moldova at 4:20 p.m. local time, briefly entering Romanian airspace at 4:38 p.m., before re-entering Moldovan territory and crashing in the Râșcani district. While grounded at Chisinau airport, Zelenskyy reportedly offered a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet to help Moldovan air defenses intercept the drone.
The report noted that Zelenskyy landed safely in Oslo on Tuesday evening once the delay ended, heading directly into talks with Støre, Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg, and Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide on a European anti-ballistic system codenamed FREYJA.
Discussing the air-defense summit, the Ukrainian president said: "We expect to see the first practical results. I am grateful to Norway for hosting this meeting. I thank our partners for their readiness to work together. Protecting Europe's skies is our shared responsibility."
On Wednesday, the Telegraph added, Zelenskyy joined foreign heads of state and international royal families in marching behind the King's coffin during the funeral procession in central Oslo.
