Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on Saturday that five Russian aerial weapons, including Banderol missiles and drones, violated the country’s airspace and exploded on Moldovan territory amid continuing Russian attacks on neighbouring Ukraine.
Sandu warned that the conflict was increasingly posing a direct threat to Moldova.
“Russia’s attacks on Ukraine are dangerously reaching Moldova,” she said in a post on X, adding that Moscow was “putting lives at risk across Europe and must be stopped.”
Moldova’s Foreign Ministry separately condemned the alleged airspace violations, saying fragments from drones had been discovered at several locations, including outside Causeni, near Dubovca, between Delacau and Puhaceni, and near Crocmaz.
According to the ministry, one of the incidents sparked a vegetation fire and caused property damage.
“Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to pose concrete threats to our country and to the security of the entire region,” the ministry said.
The latest incidents follow several other reported airspace violations. On Thursday, Moldova summoned Russian Ambassador Oleg Ozerov and delivered a formal protest after three drones allegedly entered Moldovan airspace in a single day. Two reportedly crashed and exploded inside the country.
Moldovan authorities said the country’s airspace had been violated eight times during the previous seven days.
Russia has disputed Moldova’s allegations. Ozerov accused Chisinau of failing to provide evidence that the drones were Russian and said Moscow had proposed conducting joint investigations into such incidents.
“We are fed up with unsubstantiated accusations,” he was quoted by Russia’s state-run Tass news agency as saying.
Moscow had not immediately commented on Saturday’s latest allegations.
The incidents come amid growing concern across Europe over reported incursions by Russian drones into the airspace of several countries in recent months. Russia has denied responsibility for a number of those incidents.