A Russian drone may have been targeting Zelenskyy’s plane, says ambassador
The Russian jet-powered drone that violated Moldova’s airspace on September 8 may have been deliberately flying toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plane.
According to him, Moldovan authorities do not currently consider this incident to be accidental.
The diplomat emphasized that it is hard to believe the Russian jet drone accidentally entered the country’s territory at the exact moment the Ukrainian president’s plane was at the airport.
“Most likely, this was no coincidence, as we do not believe that the jet drone simply flew into Moldovan territory for the purpose of conducting reconnaissance at the very moment when the Ukrainian president’s plane was on the ground at the airport,” Kulminsky said.
At the same time, the ambassador stressed that it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions about the drone’s purpose, as the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
On September 8, Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s flight from Moldova to Norway was delayed due to a Russian drone in the country’s airspace.
Chisinau confirmed that Moldova’s airspace was temporarily closed due to the drone’s appearance. As a result, the Ukrainian president’s plane was unable to depart for Oslo according to schedule.
Thus, the Russian drone was in Moldovan airspace precisely at the time when Zelenskyy’s plane was on the ground, which has led to speculation that the incident may have been deliberate.
This version of events was put forward by Moldova’s ambassador to the U.S., Vladislav Kulminsky, according to Moldova Liberă.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre stated that the drone nearly struck the plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the first lady as it was taking off from Moldova bound for Oslo.
In Moldova, the departure of the plane on which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was to travel to Norway was delayed due to a report of a drone. Authorities closed the country’s airspace for the duration of the alert.
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