On the night of 16 October, four drones breached Moldova’s airspace.
As NewsMaker reports, Moldova’s Ministry of Defence said. The country’s defence minister, Anatolie Nosatîi, also responded to the drones’ incursion.
The first aerial object entered the country’s airspace at 23:02 from the direction of the settlement of Tymkove in Ukraine’s Odesa region, heading towards Ivanivka. At 23:20, the object left the airspace near the settlement of Bronnitsa in Ukraine’s Mohyliv-Podilskyi district.
The second entered at 03:37 from the direction of Starokozache (Ukraine) towards the village of Tudora (Moldova). At 03:38, it left the country’s airspace along the same trajectory.
The third airspace violation was recorded at 03:46 on the route Mohyliv-Podilskyi (Ukraine) — Ataky (Moldova). At 03:48, the object left Moldova’s airspace near the village of Hedereuți in Ocnița district.
At 05:59, Moldova’s airspace surveillance systems also recorded another unmanned aerial vehicle moving from the direction of the settlement of Starokazache (Ukraine) towards the village of Keplany (Moldova). At 06:00, the drone left Moldova’s airspace near the village of Olenești. At 06:09, the aircraft re-entered Moldova’s airspace in the area of the village of Purcar in Ștefan Vodă district. At 06:10, it left the country’s airspace in the area of Dnestrovsk (the Transnistrian section), heading towards the settlement of Gradenytsi (Ukraine).
In the morning, Defence Minister Anatolie Nosatîi wrote that although all the drones left the country’s territory within a short time, this did not mean such incursions posed no danger.
“Any violation of national airspace creates a risk to citizens’ safety. We continue to monitor the situation. I condemn every instance of such a violation that threatens national security,” he said.
- Drones have repeatedly entered Moldova. Recently, one aircraft fell and exploded in the country, although no airspace violation was recorded at the time.