CHISINAU: Moldova on Saturday said it suspected a drone was behind an “unacceptable” violation of its airspace the day before that resulted in an explosion near its capital Chisinau.
The incident, which caused no reported casualties or damage, “represents a new and serious consequence from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” Moldova’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
It added that “any unauthorized entry into Moldovan airspace is unacceptable and constitutes a serious violation to our country’s sovereignty.”
The explosion occurred Friday in Colonita, a village close to Chisinau. Police said in a Facebook post they found debris apparently from a drone near the blast site.
Authorities did not give the origin of the suspected drone.
But several drone incursions have been reported with increasing frequency in recent months in eastern European countries that have been attributed to the ongoing war in Ukraine launched by Russia in 2022.
Moldova’s border police said that several unidentified aerial craft flew into the country’s airspace on Saturday, in the southeast, with one of them crashing in Ukrainian territory.
Last week, Moldova closed its airspace after a Russian drone was detected flying in from Ukraine, forcing a delayed takeoff from Chisinau of a plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was making a visit.
BERLIN: Freiburg missed a chance to return to the top of the Bundesliga table on…
MADRID: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho admitted his team does not know how to control…
LONDON: Arsenal’s perfect start to their Premier League title defense came off the rails in…
RIYADH: Regional technology companies drew substantial equity, debt and institutional capital over the past week,…
PARIS: French policies will not be influenced by Russian “intimidation”, far-right leader Marine Le Pen…
MARIB: Yemeni government forces clashed with Houthi fighters on several fronts in Marib on Saturday,…