Unidentified drone crosses into Moldova during Russian strikes
An unidentified drone briefly crossed into Moldovan airspace on Thursday morning as Russian forces conducted massive strikes against neighbouring Ukraine, including the southern Odessa region, the Defense Ministry said.
Military radar systems tracked the unauthorized craft entering national airspace at 08:56 AM from the direction of Biliaivka in Ukraine. The drone crossed the southeastern border near the village of Tudora before exiting two minutes later at 08:58 AM near Palanca toward Ukraine’s Davidove Liman lagoon.
“The Air Operations Service continues to monitor the airspace in coordination with national authorities and international partners to ensure public safety,” the Defense Ministry said in an official statement.
Repeated airspace incursions
Thursday’s incident marks the third cross-border aerial breach recorded over Moldova within five days. On Monday, September 14, two drones entered Moldovan airspace during heavy Russian bombardment of the Odessa region. One aircraft penetrated near Palanca, while a second crossed into the security zone over Cioburciu and Pervomaisc on the left bank of the Dniester before returning to Ukraine.
The unauthorized crossings on Monday were jointly confirmed by the Moldovan Border Police and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
Earlier, on September 12, an unmanned aerial vehicle traversed northern Moldovan airspace, prompting civil aviation authorities to temporarily shut down central and northern airspace before the aircraft crossed into Romania and crashed in Suceava County.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moldova’s territory and skies have been repeatedly endangered by spillover from the conflict. More than 70 missiles and drones, including decoy aircraft, have illegally violated national airspace, with several detonating on Moldovan soil and damaging civilian infrastructure.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
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