Moldova's MFA summons Russian ambassador Over nighttime drone incursion

Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Russia’s Ambassador-at-Large, Oleg Ozerov, following an incident on the night of November 19 when a drone crossed into Moldovan airspace.

The Foreign Ministry issued a strong protest to the diplomat over what it called a serious violation of national sovereignty and a threat to the safety of Moldovan citizens, Caliber.Az reports per deschide.md.

The ministry again urged Russia to refrain from any actions that could endanger the security of the Republic of Moldova and to fully respect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

After the summons, Ozerov made a statement rejecting the allegations, insisting there was no evidence and claiming the drone could have belonged to Ukraine.

“No proof was presented that it was a Russian drone. So we have a question: why was the Russian ambassador summoned and not the Ukrainian one, since the drone entered from the Ukrainian side?” Ozerov said.

He also argued there was no evidence that the airspace violation was intentional.

“There are no grounds for accusations because there is no evidence. There are no facts to support this. There is no drone, no photo or video material,” he added.

As a reminder, on the night of November 18 to 19, a drone crossed the Moldovan airspace from the direction of the village of Lisne (Ukraine) towards the village of Săiți, Ștefan Vodă district (Moldova), at an altitude of approximately 100 metres. In response, the authorities in Chișinău accused Russia, which that night massively attacked the territory of Ukraine with drones, of seriously violating national sovereignty and creating major risks for the security of citizens and regional stability.

By Khagan Isayev