Moldova's National Security Council orders measures to protect energy infrastructure from drones, cyberattacks

Authorities will strengthen measures to protect energy infrastructure against hostile actions, including drone and cyberattacks. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the National Security Council, chaired by Maia Sandu. Facilities on which the country’s energy supply depends are to be better protected and in the event of incidents, their operation must be restored as quickly as possible, the head of state said after the meeting.

“The Council examined and ordered measures to ensure that facilities on which the country’s energy supply depends are better protected against hostile actions, including drones, and that, if a problem arises, their operation can be restored as quickly as possible,” Maia Sandu said.

The president referred specifically to the threat posed by Russian drones, emphasizing that the problem is a regional one. According to her, Russian drones have entered the airspace of such countries as the Baltic states, Poland and Romania, while armies better equipped than Moldova’s one have encountered difficulties in preventing them from entering their airspace.

“Any drone that violates our airspace endangers people and the only one responsible for this is the Russian Federation. A state that sends you drones is not seeking your friendship, but your fear and submission. Moldova will continue to develop its defense capabilities, protect its hard-won freedoms, its peaceful future and its citizens. We will also identify ways to warn the population in crisis situations until the MDAlert system becomes operational,” President Maia Sandu said during a news conference.

As for measures to protect infrastructure and citizens, the head of state mentioned investments made from domestic resources, as well as external funding secured for the development of the defense system.

“First, Moldova continues to invest its own resources and attract external grants’ funding for the development and improvement of the defense system. It has two components: detection and neutralization. To improve drones’ detection, we are modernizing the airspace surveillance system. Even though we can now see better what is happening, existing capabilities are still insufficient. Decades of neglect of the defense system cannot be made up for in five years. We are working with our partners to accelerate this process. To neutralize drones, we have portable surface-to-air missile systems, anti-aircraft machine guns and electronic warfare capabilities. These capabilities are operational, but their area of operation is limited to protecting critical infrastructure that provides basic services for the working  of  the economy,” the head of state specified.

Maia Sandu noted that the Army was also investing resources to expand the coverage area of air defense.

“The Defense Ministry has recently said that it secured 120 million euros in non-reimbursable funding from the European Union, which will be used to purchase a medium-range air defense system, an advanced system for detecting and tracking aerial targets. All these measures require time. Second, we are strengthening partnerships with neighboring countries to improve the exchange of information, supplementing the data provided by national surveillance systems. Third, we are working with partners to benefit from modern, effective and less expensive solutions against drones,” Maia Sandu said.

The president said that, since the beginning of 2026, 39 airspace violations had been recorded in Moldova, compared with 17 in 2025. The most recent incidents occurred on September 21, when an unidentified aerial object disappeared near Tabani, Briceni district, and a few hours later another object entered the airspace in the Palanca area of Stefan Voda district before subsequently returning to Ukraine.