Drones violate Moldovan airspace during Russian attack on Ukraine
On the morning of 24 September, drones violated Moldovan airspace multiple times during a Russian attack on Ukraine, prompting the country to temporarily close its northern airspace. Police later located an explosion site in Florești district, though no casualties were reported. NATO members Romania and Poland also scrambled or raised military aircraft during the same night's Russian strikes.
Key points
- Moldova's airspace was violated multiple times on the morning of 24 September during a Russian attack on Ukraine
- Moldova's Ministry of Defence reported at least four drones violating the country's airspace
- Drones entered Moldovan territory from the Vinnytsia and Chernivtsi oblasts of Ukraine
- Moldova temporarily closed its northern airspace for security reasons; it was reopened at 07:46
- Police located the site of an explosion in the village of Cernița in Florești district; no casualties were reported
- Russia struck Kyiv with ballistic missiles on 24 September, killing two and injuring eight as of that morning
- Romania scrambled fighter jets and Poland raised military aircraft during the night in response to the same Russian attack
Why it matters
The episode illustrates how Russian strikes on Ukraine can spill across borders into neighboring countries. Moldova, a non-belligerent state bordering western Ukraine, saw repeated intrusions of its airspace by objects linked to attacks on Ukraine, triggering airspace closures, police checks of explosion reports, and the discovery of an explosion site on Moldovan territory. The simultaneous raising of aircraft by NATO members Romania and Poland underscores the wider regional reach of a single night's Russian assault.
What happened
On the morning of 24 September, during a Russian attack on Ukraine, Moldova's airspace was violated multiple times by aerial objects. Moldova's Ministry of Defence reported at least four drones entering the country's airspace, with routes traced from Vinnytsia and Chernivtsi oblasts. At 05:21 a border patrol spotted an unidentified object flying from the village of Velyka Kishnytsia in Vinnytsia Oblast toward Vasilke in Soroca district; between 06:14 and 06:16 another drone crossed from Kelmentsi in Chernivtsi Oblast toward Larha in Briceni district before returning to Ukrainian airspace; around 06:35 a third object entered from Prydnistrovsky in Vinnytsia Oblast toward Volovets in Soroca district. Around 06:58 a drone flew from Kodima in Vinnytsia Oblast toward Sokoly in the Transnistrian region and disappeared from observation systems near Kunitsa in Camenca district at 07:11. Residents also reported spotting an object over Florești district at 06:45.
Moldova temporarily closed its northern airspace for security reasons and reopened it at 07:46. Police received two reports of sounds resembling explosions, including from a resident of Vadul-Rashkov in Șoldănești district around 07:45, and located the site of an explosion in a field near a farm in the village of Cernița in Florești district. According to preliminary data, no casualties were reported in Moldova.
The same night, Russia carried out a massive attack on Ukrainian territory, including a ballistic strike on Kyiv that killed two people and injured eight as of the morning. NATO members Romania and Poland scrambled or raised military aircraft in response.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Both supplied articles are Ukrainian-language media and frame the event as a spillover of Russian attacks on Ukraine into neighboring Moldova. They emphasize that the intrusions happened in the context of Russia's attack on Ukraine, including strikes on Odesa Oblast, and note allied responses in Romania and Poland as part of the wider picture of the night's Russian attack.
Background
Moldova borders Ukraine to the west, including near Vinnytsia and Chernivtsi oblasts, which the facts name as the routes taken by objects crossing into Moldovan airspace. Russia's 24 September attack on Ukraine included a ballistic strike on Kyiv that killed two and injured eight. Romania and Poland, both NATO members, took military air measures during the night in response to the same Russian attack.