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15 November, 2026 / 06:26

/ 09 September, 2026

Authorities issue clarifications following Norwegian prime minister's statement about Ukrainian President's plane

Chisinau authorities issued clarifications this evening following a statement by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, according to which the plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was “almost hit” by a drone while taking off from the Republic of Moldova.

Dumitru Ciorici, spokesperson for the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, said that the country's airspace was temporarily closed on the afternoon of September 8, after 4:30 p.m., following the detection of a Russian drone that had entered the country without authorization from the direction of Ukraine.

The decision to close the airspace was made to protect aircraft that were in Moldovan airspace at that time. The measure delayed the takeoff of three aircraft and the landing of four others.

Later, after 5:20 p.m., the authorities received confirmation that the drone had exploded on the ground in the area of the village of Mihăilenii Vechi, in Rîșcani district, approximately 160 kilometers from Chisinau International Airport. Following this confirmation, the flight restrictions were lifted.

“For the same reason, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plane took off late from Chisinau International Airport,” Dumitru Ciorici said.

The clarifications from the Moldovan authorities came after Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told public broadcaster NRK that Zelenskyy’s aircraft had “almost been hit by a drone” while preparing to take off from Moldova. The prime minister did not specify the source of the information or how close the drone was to the plane.

Zelenskyy arrived in Oslo the same evening, where he was expected to attend the funeral of King Harald V and discuss Ukraine’s air defense with the Norwegian prime minister.

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