Since start of year, 39 incidents of UAVs violating Moldova’s airspace have been recorded
Since the start of 2026, 39 cases of unauthorised flights by drones through Moldova’s airspace have been recorded. This is significantly more than in previous years.
According to Censor.NET, citing Newsmaker, this was reported by the Centre for Strategic Communications and Countering Disinformation (StratCom).
According to StratCom, four cases of unauthorised drone flights were recorded in Moldova in 2022, six in 2023, 10 in 2024, and 17 in 2025.
At the same time, in just the first part of 2026, the number of such incidents has already reached 39.
In particular, on the night of 21 September, Moldovan surveillance systems detected an unidentified aircraft that had entered the country’s airspace. As a result of the incident in northern Moldova, flights were suspended for 24 minutes.
StratCom has reported on propaganda campaigns
The Centre for Strategic Communications and Countering Disinformation noted that, following incidents of drones flying over the country illegally, information campaigns are being launched aimed at changing the public’s perception of the situation.
According to StratCom’s assessment, such campaigns are intended to intimidate the population, fuel discontent with the authorities’ actions, undermine efforts to strengthen Moldova’s defence capabilities, and reduce support for Ukraine.
The centre also stated that information campaigns are being used to spread fear and influence public attitudes towards the country’s European course.
What led up to it?
On 21 September, an aerial target was detected near the border with Romania. Two F-16s were scrambled to monitor the situation; no airspace violation was recorded.
