Zelenskyy says Russia targeted his plane with drones twice in recent weeks
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (facebook.com_zelenskyy.official)
Russian forces attacked the plane carrying the Ukrainian president twice in recent weeks. The attacks were part of a Russian strategy aimed at intimidation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with CBS News.
According to the president, the attacks were directly linked to the location of his presidential aircraft.
"In Moldova, my presidential jet was there, and that's why they attacked Moldova. When we went back home, again through Chisinau, they did the same," Zelenskyy said.
In addition, when he was returning to Ukraine several days later, one or two drones entered Moldovan airspace. The incident had not previously been officially reported.
Ukrainian officials later said that all members of the presidential delegation were safe. At the time, it was unclear whether the incident was deliberate.
Zelenskyy stressed that the attacks were part of a Russian strategy aimed at intimidating him personally as well as other foreign leaders.
Incident involving Zelenskyy’s plane in Moldova
Earlier, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre spoke about the incident involving Zelenskyy’s plane on its way to Norway. According to him, the Ukrainian president’s plane "was almost hit by a drone while taking off from Moldova."
The Moldovan government later confirmed that on September 8, Zelenskyy’s departure for Norway was delayed because of a Russian drone in Moldovan airspace.
Flight clearance was granted after it became known about the crash and explosion of a Russian drone near the village of Stary Mihăileni in Moldova’s Riscani district. The crash site was 160 km from Chisinau International Airport.
In addition, Moldova’s ambassador to the US, Vladislav Kulminski, said the Russian drone that violated the country’s airspace may have been deliberately heading toward the Ukrainian president’s plane.
