Moldova has once again become collateral territory in Russia’s war on its neighbour. Between Thursday and Friday, in a window of barely 17 hours, five drones that Moldovan authorities identified as Russian came down inside the small country, most of them in its northern and eastern districts. One person suffered light injuries and there was some minor damage.
One of the aircraft exploded on impact in a field near the village of Codrenii Noi in the Donduseni district, away from houses. Other unauthorised flights were tracked near Tudora and Purcari in the south-east and close to Otaci on the Ukrainian border. Counting from 15 to 16 October, the foreign ministry spoke of six unauthorised flights by unmanned aircraft in all.
The ministry in Chisinau called the incidents a “serious violation” of Moldova’s sovereignty and urged Russia to stop attacking Ukraine and to respect international law. In previous cases it has summoned Russia’s ambassador, Oleg Ozerov, to explain himself. Although he arrived in Chisinau over two years ago, the head of state Maia Sandu has still not formally accepted him as envoy.
The numbers show how routine the problem has become. Moldovan officials have recorded 63 airspace violations so far this year, 15 of them in October alone, and around 100 since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Seven days earlier, another drone had fallen about 35 kilometres outside Chisinau.
The defence ministry is warning residents not to go near or touch any drone, missile or debris they find and to call the emergency number 112 instead. Politically, the episode widens the gap between the pro-European government, which wants to join the EU by 2030, and the Kremlin. Moscow’s position is that ties can only thaw if Chisinau drops what Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov labelled “Russophobia”.
