The president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, denounced this Thursday that four drones from Russia penetrated Moldovan airspace during the most recent wave of bombings against Ukraine, an offensive that caused two fatalities in Kiev and forced two F-18 fighters stationed in Romania to take off due to a similar incident in their territory.
"Russia's massive attack against Ukraine reached Moldova again this morning: four Russian drones violated our airspace and at least one exploded in the north," she pointed out in a message on social media. "Russia's war endangers all of Europe. We condemn this war and stand in solidarity with Ukraine," she noted.
The Moldovan Air Operations Service explained that the incursion of the unmanned aircraft temporarily forced the closure of airspace in the affected area, although so far no casualties have been reported on Moldovan soil, according to information released by the official agency Moldpress.
For its part, the Ukrainian Air Force detailed that, in recent hours, Russian forces launched a total of 282 drones, in addition to several ballistic and anti-ship missiles. According to their data, air defense systems managed to destroy 219 of those drones and eight missiles, although impacts occurred in thirteen locations in the country and debris from interceptions fell in another ten areas.
"The main targets of the attacks have been the provinces of Odesa and Kiev," the Air Force emphasized, a statement that has been corroborated by the Russian Ministry of Defense. In a statement, Moscow confirmed that its "massive attack" focused on these regions and that among the targets were "companies dedicated to drone production," "telecommunications," and "logistics centers," in addition to several ships.