Kubilius: Russian drone incident near Zelenskyy plane raises EU aviation concerns

“We really need to recognize that Russian provocations … involving drones or sabotage are becoming more frequent. And that is making life, including civilian life in EU member states, increasingly dangerous and fraught with threats,” Kubilius said.

He stressed that the European Union now faces the task of finding ways to counter such Russian provocations.

“Regarding the incident with President Zelenskyy, the so-called incident in Moldova — as President Zelenskyy said, it may not have been direct aggression against the president’s plane — but … it is quite clear that the situation is becoming increasingly dangerous for civilian aviation in neighboring countries as well,” the commissioner said.

Kubilius said the EU should step up the development of its own defense capabilities to be prepared for possible provocations. He said that is the purpose of the EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance — to build capabilities to respond quickly to such threats.

The commissioner also noted that the incident involving Zelenskyy’s plane was not the first time senior officials had faced potential danger while traveling by air.

“I remember traveling with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last year through Eastern Flank countries, and in Bulgaria our pilots faced really serious problems because of navigation-signal jamming, which is also very dangerous for civilian aviation,” he added.

Drone incident near Zelenskyy’s plane in Moldova

On Sept. 8, Zelenskyy and his wife arrived in Norway to attend the funeral of King Harald and hold talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store. Store later said the Ukrainian president’s plane was nearly hit by a drone while taking off from Moldova.

Moldova’s ambassador to the United States, Vladislav Kulminski, suggested that the Russian drone may have deliberately entered Moldovan airspace while Zelenskyy’s plane was at Chisinau airport, but stressed that it was too early to speak of a deliberate attack on the president.

Sources in Ukraine’s Presidential Office told Suspilne that Zelenskyy’s plane was not in the air at the same time as the Russian drone that entered Moldova, and that Ukraine tracked its flight and waited until the UAV disappeared from radar.

On Sept. 10, The Associated Press reported that the drone crashed 160 kilometers from Chisinau airport. Four fires broke out after the crash, but no one was injured.

Moldovan government spokesperson Dumitru Ciorici said the country’s airspace was closed in the afternoon to protect aircraft that were in the air at the time. Three flights were delayed as a result, including the plane carrying Zelenskyy.

Moldova’s Defense Ministry later determined that a Shahed-type drone had paralyzed airport operations. The ministry also said the UAV had entered Romanian airspace.