Society

16 October, 2026 / 15:37

/ 18 March, 2026

Shahed drone flew over airspace of Moldova near Palanca border crossing point

The General Inspectorate of the Border Police (IGPF) reported a new air security incident at the border with Ukraine. On the night of Wednesday, March 18, an unmanned aerial vehicle, identified as a “Shahed”-type drone, briefly flew over the airspace of the Republic of Moldova in the sector of the Palanca border crossing point (BCP).

According to the Border Police, the aircraft was visually observed by border guards during two distinct time intervals.

The first sighting occurred at around 01:46, when on-duty personnel detected the presence of the drone crossing the national airspace in the direction of the Ukrainian city of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi. Later, between 02:14 and 02:25, the same aircraft was observed again above the Palanca BCP area, before finally leaving the airspace of the Republic of Moldova. The aircraft was not confirmed by the Air Operations Service of the National Army, which stated that it was not visible on radar. Authorities specified that it was a single aircraft which, after leaving the territory of our country, was destroyed above the estuary, outside the borders of the Republic of Moldova.

Yesterday, March 17, several drone fragments were discovered in the locality of Tudora, Ștefan Vodă district, approximately 500 meters from the border line. The drone was active and contained an explosive device. Intervention teams carried out a controlled detonation on site.

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