OSLO — A flight carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy encountered a significant security scare on Tuesday after an unidentified Russian drone entered Moldovan airspace during the aircraft's scheduled departure for Oslo, forcing emergency airspace closures and flight delays.
Speaking to public broadcaster NRK on Wednesday, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre confirmed the alarming incident, stating that Zelenskyy’s plane narrowly avoided a potential hazard while taking off from Moldova.
"His plane was almost hit by a drone as it was taking off from Moldova. That is the reality he is facing," Prime Minister Støre told reporters, drawing attention to the persistent dangers that surround the Ukrainian leader’s international travel during ongoing regional hostilities.
Clarifying the timeline, Moldovan officials in Chișinău confirmed that authorities briefly shut down national airspace on Tuesday afternoon following a drone alert triggered near the Ukrainian border. Government spokesperson Dumitru Ciorici noted that the temporary grounding affected several commercial flights as a precaution before the threat neutralized approximately 160 kilometers from Chișinău International Airport, allowing Zelenskyy's jet to safely depart.
Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg also verified that President Zelenskyy recounted the turbulent departure shortly after landing in Oslo, where he arrived on Tuesday evening to join world leaders for the funeral of Norway's late monarch, King Harald V.
While Ukrainian presidency sources later characterized early reports of an imminent direct collision as somewhat overstated, officials underscored that air danger in the region remains exceptionally high. The brief airspace closure highlights how drone and missile spillover from Russian bombardments across southern Ukraine continues to pose severe logistics and safety risks across neighboring Eastern European airspace.
Despite the transit scare, President Zelenskyy completed his diplomatic schedule in Oslo before departing for Canada. While in the Norwegian capital, he held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Støre and Nordic defense executives focused on expanding air defense production and co-developing regional defense initiatives to safeguard European skies.
