Norway's prime minister says the Ukrainian president's aircraft was almost struck during takeoff, while Ukrainian sources push back on the severity of the incident.
A plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was nearly hit by a drone while taking off from Moldova on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, as he traveled to Oslo for the funeral of King Harald V, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told public broadcaster NRK on Wednesday, September 9. Moldovan authorities separately confirmed that a Russian drone violated the country's airspace that afternoon, prompting a temporary airspace closure that delayed Zelenskyy's departure alongside several other flights.
Støre's Account and Moldova's Confirmation
Støre told NRK that Zelenskyy's "plane was almost hit by a drone as it was about to take off from Moldova. That is the reality he is facing," according to Reuters. Støre did not specify how close the drone came to the aircraft or identify his source for the claim. A Moldovan government spokesperson confirmed that a drone entered Moldovan airspace, came down on Moldovan territory, and triggered a closure that delayed three departures and four arrivals, according to Reuters. Zelenskyy's plane was cleared for takeoff only after authorities determined the drone had crashed and no longer posed a threat. Despite the delay, Zelenskyy landed safely in Oslo on Tuesday evening and attended King Harald V's funeral the next day alongside other foreign dignitaries.
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Diverging Characterizations of the Danger
Accounts of how serious the incident was diverge sharply. The Financial Times reported that Ukraine described the drone as having "almost struck" Zelenskyy's plane, while Spanish outlet ARA cited an unnamed source close to the Ukrainian presidency who characterized the episode as an airspace alert triggered by a Russian drone entering Moldovan and Romanian airspace, calling suggestions that Zelenskyy faced serious danger "exaggerated." Moldovan officials and Ukrainian-linked sources have identified the drone as Russian, with some reports describing it as an Iranian-designed Shahed-type munition, though this classification is not universal across coverage. No official body has published the distance, altitude or trajectory data confirming how close the drone actually came to the aircraft, and no formal investigation findings have been made public as of the latest reporting.
