A drone in Moldova's airspace sets off Zelensky's security alarms
Norway speaks of an attempted attack against the president, but sources from the Ukrainian presidency downplay the seriousness of the incident
BarcelonaAt a time of special tension between Europe and Russia and amid an escalation of constant attacks between Kyiv and Moscow, any suspicious movement in the airspace quickly triggers alarms. This is what has happened in the last few hours with a drone and the plane of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was reportedly involved in a scare during his trip on Tuesday to Oslo to attend the funeral of King Harald V this Wednesday.
The details about the incident, however, are unclear, and the severity of the events varies depending on who is explaining them. "His plane was about to be hit by a drone as it was taking off from Moldova. This is the reality he faces," explained the Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, this Wednesday. "The departure was delayed and there were some threats against the plane," he added in statements to Norwegian public television.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre added that Zelenskyy – who has not publicly given details of the events related to his plane – explained the incident last night to those present at the meetings he held in Oslo. The former NATO secretary general also gave no details of the conversation.
However, a source from the Ukrainian presidency offered a nuanced version to Agence France-Presse (AFP). "It was an alert in Moldova, when a Russian drone entered the airspace of Moldova and Romania," explains the anonymous source, who describes as "exaggerated" the claim that Zelenskyy was in any kind of danger during the incident. According to the government of Moldova, the entry of a drone into its airspace meant it had to be closed, causing a delay in the departure of the Ukrainian leader's flight.
Rising tension and jet drones
The incident occurs in a context of particular tension between Europe and Russia, aggravated after Germany held Russian intelligence services responsible last week for the attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport on August 4th. On the Ukrainian front, both sides have intensified attacks in recent months. Russia is managing to overcome Ukrainian defenses and bombard cities for hours thanks to new jet-powered devices, while Kyiv focuses on attacking key facilities for the Russian economy to damage it.
Taking advantage of the visit to Norway, Zelensky met with executives from defense companies of Ukraine's allied countries. He indicated this himself, having thanked Oslo on social media for hosting this meeting, in which the main topic, he explained, was the FREYJA anti-ballistic program, a defense system that Ukraine is promoting together with several international partners.
