Norway's PM: Zelensky's plane nearly collided with a drone over Moldova

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told broadcaster NRK that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's plane nearly collided with a drone as it was preparing to take off from Moldova. According to Deutsche Welle's citation of Støre, he said this is the reality Zelensky lives in. Støre did not specify the source of this information, and it remains unclear from his remarks whether the incident was accidental or a deliberate assassination attempt.

The Norwegian prime minister's office later clarified the statement, saying that a drone threat had existed in Moldovan airspace the previous day, which delayed Zelensky's plane on its way to Oslo. The office noted that such threats are part of the daily reality Zelensky faces, but it is not known how close the drones actually came to his aircraft.

Russian drone entered Moldovan airspace

A senior Ukrainian official told Deutsche Welle that while the Ukrainian president's plane was waiting to depart from Chisinau, a Russian jet-powered drone entered Moldovan airspace. As a result, Zelensky's departure was delayed and other flights were temporarily suspended.

Zelensky arrived in Oslo from Moldova on the evening of September 8 to attend the funeral of King Harald V. After the ceremony, he met with Støre, though the drone incident was not mentioned in the Norwegian government's official statement about their talks.

Moldovan police reported on September 9 that a downed drone equipped with a power unit had been found. The drone exploded on impact, leaving a large crater, and contained metal ball bearings as shrapnel-like elements. No casualties were reported. Local regional military authorities had earlier said that on the night of September 9, Russian drones attacked the Starokazache international road border crossing in Ukraine's Odesa region on the border with Moldova. NRK notes that the airport from which Zelensky flew to Oslo is located about a two-hour drive from that border crossing.