A plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was delayed by a Russian drone as he prepared to fly to attend a state funeral in Oslo, Moldovan and Norwegian authorities say.
Zelensky and his wife Olena were on the jet at Chisinau, Moldova’s capital, ahead of Wednesday’s funeral of Norway’s King Harald V when the unmanned aircraft crossed over the Moldovan border.
The drone prompted an immediate airspace shutdown and Zelensky’s plane was left on the runway for around an hour before it could take off.
The flight was only authorised after it was confirmed the drone had come down 160km (100 miles) away. Asked by reporters on Thursday, the Kremlin said there had been no threat to the jet.
Zelensky’s plane had been due to take off at around 16:30 (14:30 GMT) from Chisinau International Airport.
But Moldovan government spokesman Dumitru Ciorici told the BBC that Moldova had closed its airspace after noticing a Russian drone had entered it from the direction of Ukraine.
“Three departures and four arrivals were delayed as a result,” he added.
“After 17:20 (15:20 GMT), the authorities confirmed that the drone had come down and exploded… some 160 kilometres from Chisinau International Airport.”
Zelensky and his wife arrived safely in Oslo on Tuesday evening, where he held talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and other officials about military aid.
They joined other dignitaries for King Harald’s funeral before flying on to Iceland for a brief visit and then to Canada for further talks.
There had initially been concerns about the threat from the drone incursion when he was in Chisinau.
Støre had told public broadcaster NRK: “His flight was almost hit by a drone when it was taking off from Moldova.”
But a Ukraine source told Agence France Presse the risk had been “exaggerated”.
Credit: bbc.com
