Russia attempts to attack Ukraine's presidential plane twice in recent weeks – Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed in a recent CBS News interview that Russian forces targeted his plane twice in the past two weeks. The first attempt occurred as his plane was en route to Moldova, while the second incident happened upon their return to Ukraine via Chisinau. Zelenskyy noted that these attacks were occurring due to Russia's strategy to intimidate him and other foreign leaders.

Earlier, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre had reported that Zelenskyy's plane had narrowly avoided a drone strike in Moldovan airspace during his visit to Oslo on September 9. However, this drone intrusion within Moldovan airspace while the presidential plane was returning to Ukraine had not been previously disclosed. Ukrainian authorities stated that all members of the presidential delegation were unharmed, and it remained uncertain at the time whether the incident was deliberate.

On Tuesday, Zelenskyy characterized the repeated drone attacks as part of Russia's tactics to scare him and other high-ranking international figures. On the preceding Sunday, a Russian drone strike targeted a passenger train carrying foreign officials, including European leaders and former CIA Director David Petraeus, near the Polish border. Zelenskyy suggested that the attackers likely knew the passengers on board, including Americans, which explains why they chose to strike when such a diverse group was present.