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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has disclosed that his official aircraft was targeted by Russian unmanned aerial vehicles on two separate occasions in recent weeks. Speaking in an exclusive interview with CBS News on Tuesday, the Ukrainian leader detailed how hostile drones endangered his flights during transit, marking a dangerous escalation in Moscow’s efforts to target top officials and disrupt international diplomatic travel.
The aerial encounters occurred within the sovereign airspace of neighboring Moldova, which has frequently served as a vital international transit route for Ukrainian officials amid regional wartime disruptions. According to Zelenskyy, the specific presence of his presidential aircraft in Moldovan territory directly triggered the Russian military actions, demonstrating a willingness by Moscow to launch aggressive aerial maneuvers beyond Ukrainian borders.
The first incident occurred on September 9 as Zelenskyy departed from the Moldovan capital of Chisinau en route to Oslo for an official state visit. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store had previously disclosed that the Ukrainian leader's aircraft was nearly struck by a drone shortly after takeoff in Moldovan airspace. At the time, Store underscored the gravity of the close call, observing that navigating such immediate, life-threatening aerial risks reflects the daily reality confronting the Ukrainian president.
During his Tuesday interview, Zelenskyy brought to light a second, previously unreported encounter that unfolded just a few days later during his return journey. As the presidential delegation flew back through Chisinau to return to Ukraine, one or two additional drones entered Moldovan airspace in what the Ukrainian leader described as an identical attempt to target his transit route.
Zelenskyy explicitly linked both drone incursions to the exact movements of his presidential jet. He noted that the aircraft was positioned in Moldova, which prompted the initial attack, and explained that Russian forces repeated the exact same hostile targeting pattern when his delegation traveled back through Chisinau only days later.
Following the close encounters, Ukrainian officials confirmed that all members of the presidential delegation landed safely without sustaining injuries. While security analysts and international officials were initially uncertain whether the drone incursions were deliberate or accidental flight-path overlaps, the repetition of the incidents has led Kyiv to assess the events as a calculated assault.
Zelenskyy stated that these drone incursions were not isolated operational mistakes, but rather formed a central component of an intentional Russian strategy. According to the president, Moscow is actively utilizing unmanned systems in a concerted effort to intimidate him personally as well as to deter other foreign leaders maintaining direct ties with Kyiv.
The revelations regarding the presidential aircraft follow closely on the heels of another severe strike aimed at high-profile international travelers. On Sunday, a Russian drone struck a passenger train transporting prominent foreign dignitaries on an official mission to Ukraine, compelling the entire group to carry out an emergency evacuation near the Polish border.
The targeted rail convoy was carrying several senior European government officials alongside former United States Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus. The direct strike on the train underscored the heightened physical dangers confronting international delegations and high-ranking security figures visiting the region.
Addressing the train attack, Zelenskyy expressed sharp skepticism regarding the possibility that Russian forces acted without knowledge of the passengers on board. While acknowledging theories that Russian military operators might have been unaware of the American presence, Zelenskyy maintained that he does not trust such explanations and firmly believes Moscow was fully aware of the convoy's occupants.
The Ukrainian president emphasized that the attack was executed precisely because a major multinational delegation comprising both European and American officials was on board. In his view, the train strike served as an overt intimidation tactic directed at Western allies who continue to show high-profile, in-person solidarity with Ukraine.
These targeted strikes coincide with a wider pattern of airspace violations across the European continent. Over the past several months, unidentified drones—multiple of which have been officially traced back to Russia—have increasingly penetrated sovereign European airspace, raising urgent security concerns for neighboring countries.
The growing regional crisis escalated further on Tuesday when NATO fighter jets intercepted and destroyed an unmanned aerial vehicle inside Lithuanian airspace. According to reports from The Associated Press citing Lithuanian military officials, the operation marked the first time that alliance fighter aircraft had shot down a drone over Lithuanian territory.
Together, the dual drone attacks against Zelenskyy’s presidential aircraft, the direct strike on the international diplomatic train, and escalating airspace incursions into NATO territory point to an intensifying drone campaign by Moscow. These coordinated actions continue to test regional air defenses while posing direct, physical hazards to high-level diplomatic missions across Eastern Europe.
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