Drone did not threaten Zelenskyy’s plane, but exploded 160 km from airport, - AR
The plane of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was delayed on its flight from Moldova to Norway due to the closure of airspace following the crash of a Russian drone.
The AP reports this, according to Censor.NET.
Details
Moldovan police reported that on Tuesday, a Russian drone crashed into a sunflower field on the outskirts of a village in the Rîșcani District. The crash caused four fires, but no one was injured.
Government spokesman Dumitru Chorici announced that on Tuesday afternoon, Moldova closed its airspace to ensure the safety of the aircraft that were in the country’s airspace at the time. As a result, three departures were delayed, including the flight carrying Zelenskyy.
"Moldovan authorities confirmed that the drone crashed and exploded 160 kilometers from Chisinau International Airport. The airspace restrictions were subsequently lifted, and Zelenskyy's plane took off late," the publication reports.
What happened before that?
- As a reminder, on September 9, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Støre stated that the plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the first lady was "nearly hit by a drone" while taking off from Moldova en route to Oslo. The Ukrainian leader was on his way to a memorial service for King Harald of Norway.
- It should be noted that around the time of Zelenskyy’s flight departure from Chisinau, Moldova did indeed partially close its airspace due to a Russian drone that had entered the country. However, there were no reports of the drone being shot down in the vicinity of Chisinau Airport. The drone left Moldovan airspace and flew toward Romania.
