Moldova reports new airspace violations by drones

The Republic of Moldova declared an alert overnight after two drones breached the country’s airspace. Authorities temporarily closed the airspace as a precaution, later reopening it for most of the country except the northern region.

As reported by NewsMaker, officials stated that the two drones entered Moldovan airspace on a trajectory from Stanislavka (in Ukraine’s Odesa region) toward Vărăncău on the left bank of the Dniester River.

The drones were not visible on radar. 

Subsequently, Ukraine’s Border Guard Service notified Moldova’s Border Police that the drones had also been detected travelling along the route Velyka Kosnytsia (Ukraine) – Ruslanovca (Soroca district), crossing the state border in both directions.

So far, no objects that could pose a threat to the population have been found. “Based on the information received, procedural measures defined by current legislation are being taken.

The area over which the drones are believed to have flown is being inspected. At this time, no items that present a risk to citizens’ safety have been identified,” the Border Police reported.

The incident follows another breach earlier in the week, when six drones illegally entered Moldovan airspace on November 25.

One of them — of Russian manufacture and marked with the “Z” symbol used by the Russian military in its war against Ukraine and banned in Moldova — crashed in the northern part of the country.

Moldova’s Foreign Ministry condemned this as a “gross violation of airspace,” noting that the drone had fallen onto the roof of a house in the village of Cuhureștii de Jos in Florești district. The event was labelled a “serious risk to the safety of citizens,” prompting the ministry to summon Russia’s appointed ambassador, Oleg Ozerov.

Ozerov had already been summoned on November 20, after two more drones illegally crossed into Moldova’s airspace on November 19 amid another large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine.

By Tamilla Hasanova