Moldova, located on the border with Ukraine, temporarily closed its airspace for one hour overnight following an incursion by unidentified drones, the Ministry of Defense reported on November 29.
This small country, bordering war-torn Ukraine and NATO member Romania, has repeatedly faced airspace violations since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The latest incident follows earlier reports this week that a drone had crashed on Moldovan territory, with a total of six drones having crossed its airspace.
Moldova’s airspace “was temporarily closed for about one hour and ten minutes, between 22:43 and 23:53, as an emergency measure, after two unidentified drones illegally flew over national territory, posing a direct threat to aviation safety,” the Ministry of Defense said in a media statement on Saturday.
The ministry added that the Gerbera-type drones were not detected by Moldova’s radar, but their incursion was “confirmed by Ukrainian border authorities.”
“No objects, fragments, or elements posing a risk to the population were identified, and both drones left the national airspace, entering deep into Ukrainian territory,” the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.
However, two planes en route to Chișinău from Paris and Barcelona had to divert to Romania during the airspace closure. Another aircraft preparing to depart from Chișinău was temporarily delayed.
“Moldova strongly condemns these illegal and dangerous actions, which endangered civil flight safety and human lives,” the Ministry of Defense said, describing the violations as “hostile acts of intimidation and destabilization.”
On Wednesday, Moldova summoned the Russian ambassador following the downing of a drone, presenting the recovered drone to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and issuing a formal protest note.
