EU makes statement on incident involving Zelenskyy's plane
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (Getty Images)
According to him, recent events in Moldova involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plane highlight the growing security risks.
"President Zelenskyy said it was not direct aggression against the president's plane, but nevertheless, it's very clear that the situation is becoming more and more dangerous also for civilian aviation in neighbouring countries," Kubilius said.
Strengthening defense capabilities
The European commissioner said Russia's provocations require the European Union to "be even more proactive in building our defense capabilities."
He also noted that threats to European leaders and civilian aircraft are not new.
"I remember myself travelling with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last year through all the eastern flank countries, and in Bulgaria our pilots said that they were facing trouble with jamming of navigation signals, which is also very dangerous for civil aviation," Kubilius said.
Incident involving Zelenskyy's plane
Earlier, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre reported an incident involving Zelenskyy's plane en route to Norway. He said the Ukrainian president's plane "was almost hit by a drone while taking off from Moldova."
The Moldovan government later confirmed that Zelenskyy's flight from Moldova to Norway on September 8 was delayed because of a Russian drone in the country's airspace.
Permission for the plane to take off was granted after a Russian drone was reported to have crashed and exploded near the village of Stari Mihăileni in Moldova's Riscani district. The crash site was approximately 160 km from Chisinau International Airport.
In addition, Moldova's ambassador to the United States, Vladislav Kulminski, said the Russian drone that violated Moldovan airspace may have been deliberately heading toward the Ukrainian president's plane.
