Norway's PM: Zelenskyy's plane almost hit by drone

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store revealed on Wednesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's flight from Moldova to Oslo for the late King Harald V's funeral came dangerously close to a drone incident. Store noted that the plane was almost hit by a drone during its takeoff from Moldova. He went on to say that Zelenskyy had since departed for Canada, where he would meet with Canadian leaders.

However, Store did not disclose further specifics about the reported incident, which occurred on Tuesday while Zelenskyy was on his way to Oslo.

The Ukrainian leader arrived in Oslo on Tuesday evening to engage in discussions with Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide and Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg. The talks revolved around matters such as military aid, including air-defense support, and civilian assistance. On Wednesday, Zelenskyy joined other foreign dignitaries at the funeral of King Harald V in the Norwegian capital.

Despite the drone concern, both Ukrainian authorities and Zelenskyy himself have not commented on the matter. An anonymous source within the Ukrainian presidency shared a slightly different perspective with AFP. According to this source, there was indeed an alert in Moldova when a Russian drone entered Moldovan and Romanian airspace.

The source described the claim that Zelenskyy was in danger as "exaggerated." The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US think tank, reported that a Russian drone flew in Moldovan and Romanian airspace for around an hour on Tuesday. The drone reportedly entered Moldovan airspace from Ukraine, flew over Romania, and then returned to Moldova before crashing. However, it remains uncertain whether this drone is the same one mentioned by Store.