Friday 23 Oct 2026
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(Sept 10): Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s planned flight to Oslo was disrupted on Tuesday by a Russian drone as he was set to depart for the funeral of King Harald, according to Norwegian and Moldovan authorities.

It wasn’t immediately clear how close a call it was for the Ukrainian president. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told public broadcaster NRK the plane was almost hit when it was taking off.

The incursion only stalled takeoff before the drone that arrived via Ukraine exploded “some 160km” (99 miles) from the airport an hour later, Dumitru Ciorici, a Moldovan government spokesman, said on Wednesday evening.

It was the second drone incident involving top Ukrainian officials this month, after a jet-powered drone hit the office of the head of the internal security service SBU in downtown Kyiv last week. Zelenskiy blamed Russia and vowed to deliver an “appropriate, tangible response” to the strike.

The Norwegian prime minister didn’t provide any further details. The office of the Ukrainian president did not return a request for confirmation, citing ongoing travel.

“Most likely this is not an accident,” Moldovan ambassador to the US, Vladislav Kulminski, told CNN. “We don’t believe in jet-propelled drones just flying into Moldova’s territory for surveillance purposes while the Ukrainian president’s airplane is on the ground at the airport.”

But it was still too early to say and the investigation was ongoing, he added.

Zelenskiy arrived in Canada on Thursday where he is set to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney to discuss support for Ukraine “in protecting the skies and preparing for winter,” he said on Telegram. 

The drone incursion followed a Russian drone strike on a Ukraine-Moldova border crossing the previous night that Ukrainian authorities said killed two people.

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