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Zelenskyy Reveals Repeated Aerial Targeting During Recent European Travels, CBS Reports
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Russian drones targeted the official aircraft carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy twice over recent weeks in Moldovan airspace, as Zelenskyy disclosed to CBS News.
The aerial targeting occurred during official travel, including a trip to Oslo on September 9 and the return journey through Chișinău days later.
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Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre confirmed that the presidential flight was nearly brought down during the initial leg.
Speaking in an interview with CBS News, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the incidents involving his official flight path over Moldova.
"My presidential plane was in Moldova, and that is why they attacked Moldova," Zelenskyy said. "When we returned home, again via Chisinau, they did the same thing."
The initial incident occurred as the delegation departed for Norway. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre noted that the aircraft was nearly struck by a drone while flying through Moldovan airspace on September 9, stating, "This is the reality in which he lives."
During the return flight to Ukraine a few days later, one or two additional drones crossed into Moldovan airspace, an unreported detail the Ukrainian leader confirmed to CBS News.
The aerial risks extended to ground transportation over the weekend when a strike hit a passenger train carrying international dignitaries near the Polish border.
In a separate incident on Sunday, a drone struck a passenger train carrying high-ranking foreign delegates, including European Union officials and former CIA Director David Petraeus, forcing an emergency evacuation.
Ukrainian officials verified that all members of the delegation remained unharmed during these events.
Addressing the train incident in his remarks to CBS News, Zelenskyy questioned whether the targeting was deliberate. "Maybe they didn't know that there were some Americans there, or maybe on the contrary, they knew, because I don't trust them. I think that they knew," Zelenskyy said.
"That's why Europeans, Americans, a large delegation were on this train, and they attacked." Ukrainian officials stated that these actions form part of a broader intimidation strategy aimed at the leadership and visiting foreign dignitaries amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
On August 14, Romanian authorities issued three air alerts as Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s Odesa region, with another drone reported entering Romanian airspace, highlighting the recurring violations of both Romanian and Moldovan airspace during such attacks.
Four unidentified military-grade drones tracked the flight path of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska during their official visit to Ireland.
The presidential aircraft had touched down at Dublin Airport slightly ahead of schedule, but the drones arrived at the airspace where the plane was originally expected. Afterwards, the drones circled an Irish Navy vessel that had been secretly stationed in the Irish Sea.
Irish authorities chose not to engage the drones, which were believed to have been launched from northeast Dublin and had remained airborne for up to two hours. Law enforcement officials believed the intent had been to disrupt the president's arrival, as the drones had operated with visible lights turned on in a deliberate attempt to be seen.
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