Timeline: How a Russian drone nearly hit Zelenskyy's plane in Moldova

During Zelensky's visit to Norway for the funeral of King Harald V, his plane narrowly avoided a collision with a drone while taking off from Moldova, according to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere. Stoere did not disclose the origin of this information or the proximity of the drone's approach. Just prior to his departure from Moldova, Zelensky met with Stoere on September 8. The incident, however, is not mentioned in the Norwegian government's official statement on their discussions.

Around the same period, a drone was observed flying over Moldova and Romania. Moldovan authorities initially believed it to be a Shahed drone, which is typically employed by Russian forces. Moldova's Defense Ministry reported that the UAV entered Moldovan airspace from Ukraine at 4:20 p.m., traversed the Chisinau region en route to Romania, and exited Moldovan territory 17 minutes later.

Romania's Ministry of Defense detected the aerial object west of Chisinau at 4:33 p.m. and subsequently entered Romanian airspace around 30 kilometers southeast of Iasi at 4:37 p.m. Spanish F-18 fighter jets were dispatched to track the drone, which continued its journey into Romania, approaching the vicinity of Roman before turning back.

The drone was sighted again over Moldova at 5:08 p.m. Subsequently, it crashed near the village of Mihaileni Vechi, located approximately 25 kilometers from the Romanian border. The impact caused an explosion, resulting in a sizable crater. Upon examination, investigators discovered shrapnel comprising metal balls. Experts are currently analyzing the drone's specific type and the extent of its warhead. No casualties were reported during the incident.

The OSINT project Oko Hora (Eye of Horus) reported that the UAV was a jet-powered Geran-4 that had flown approximately 500 kilometers over Moldova and Romania, cruising at an altitude of 7,000-8,000 meters before running out of fuel and crashing. There have been prior instances of Russian drone violations over Romanian airspace.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the country's Ministry of Defense has documented 45 unauthorized drone incursions, with 26 occurring in 2026. In July, Romanian troops successfully destroyed three drones over a three-day span, and in late May, a Russian Geran-2 drone crashed into a residential building in Galati, injuring two individuals.

Technical analysis confirms that a Russian Geran-2 drone struck a residential building in Romania's Galați, according to President Nicușor Dan.