(Al Jazeera Media Network) Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store has said a plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from Moldova to Oslo was almost hit by a drone.
Zelenskyy arrived in Norway’s capital on Tuesday evening to attend the funeral of Norway’s King Harald V.
“His flight was almost hit by a drone when it was taking off from Moldova,” Store told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK on Wednesday. “That is the reality he lives in.”
Store did not say what his source was for this information or how close the drone was.
Later on Wednesday, a Moldovan government spokesperson confirmed the incident, saying in a statement that it happened on Tuesday before takeoff, and involved a Russian drone.
The spokesperson said the departure was delayed when authorities closed Moldova’s airspace over a drone alert. Zelenskyy’s aircraft was cleared for takeoff once it had been established that the drone had come down on Moldovan territory.
While in Oslo, Zelenskyy held talks with Store, with the two leaders meeting defence industry executives to discuss advancing a European anti-ballistic system codenamed FREYJA.
In a social media post, Zelenskyy said the meeting focused on dividing responsibilities between governments and defence companies and agreeing on steps needed to produce the first practical results from the program.
“We expect to see the first practical results. I am grateful to Norway for hosting this meeting. I thank our partners for their readiness to work together. Protecting Europe’s skies is our shared responsibility,” said the Ukrainian president.
His comments came as Ukrainian regional officials said at least eight people were killed in Russian attacks on Wednesday, including along the Ukraine-Moldova border and in the southeast.
