Norway reveals details of incident involving Zelenskyy's plane
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plane narrowly avoided being hit by a drone while departing Moldova for Norway. Due to the airborne threat, the Ukrainian leader's departure had to be delayed, according to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in an interview with NRK.
Details of the incident in the air
According to the Norwegian prime minister, the aircraft carrying the head of the Ukrainian state came under threat immediately after taking off.
"His plane was almost hit by a drone while taking off from Moldova. This is the reality he faces every day," Jonas Gahr Støre said.
The Norwegian prime minister's office clarified that a threat was detected in Moldovan airspace due to the presence of an enemy drone, which caused the flight to be delayed.
Meanwhile, Moldova's Ministry of Defense confirmed that the country's airspace was violated precisely when Zelenskyy was taking off.
The threat also forced the Starokozache border crossing to be temporarily closed.
Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg also mentioned the dramatic circumstances surrounding the departure.
According to him, the Ukrainian president personally shared details of the difficult journey during a meeting in Oslo.
Meeting in Norway and air defense discussions
Despite the security risks, Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Oslo to attend the funeral of King Harald V and hold a series of talks with the Norwegian government.
A key topic of the discussions was strengthening Ukraine's air defense.
In particular, the sides focused on developing the joint Freya air defense project, which is intended to become a cheaper and more effective alternative to Patriot systems.
According to Støre, Norway's defense industry is already working on solutions that will allow Ukraine to build air defense systems independently and close "the holes in the roof."
Oslo remains one of Kyiv's key partners and describes support for Ukraine as an investment in the security of all of Europe.
In particular, the Norwegian government has announced a new large-scale support package for Ukraine for 2027, which will be comparable in size to this year's aid.
