OSLO, Sept 9 (Reuters) – The plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Oslo for the funeral of the king of Norway was nearly struck by a drone when taking off from Moldova on Tuesday, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told public broadcaster NRK on Wednesday.
“His plane was almost hit by a drone as it was about to take off from Moldova. That is the reality he is facing,” said Stoere, who did not say what his source was for the information or how close the drone came.
Officials in Moldova made no comment on Stoere’s statement regarding Zelenskiy’s plane.
Arrivals and departures at Chisinau airport were suspended for a time on Tuesday in connection with two Russian drones that entered Moldovan airspace. Several flights bound for the capital landed at airports outside Moldova or were forced into holding patterns, according to data from Flightradar24.
One drone landed in a field, triggering a fire, while the second carried on into Romanian airspace.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu denounced the intrusions as a “serious threat to people’s lives” and also condemned an attack on a border crossing with Ukraine that killed two people.
Zelenskiy attended the funeral of King Harald V of Norway on Wednesday, marching behind his coffin along with other heads of state in central Oslo. He left Norway soon after the funeral was over.
Stoere had said in a statement on Tuesday that he would meet the Ukrainian leader that evening, with their discussions to focus on Ukraine’s air defence.
Zelenskiy had said there would also be discussions with companies taking part in the Freyja initiative to create a European anti-ballistic system while he was in Norway.
(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche and by Alexander Tanas in Chisinau; Editing by Alison Williams, Ron Popeski and Bill Berkrot)
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