Moldova – Sandu: Five Russian aircraft violated the airspace and exploded on the territory

Five Russian aircraft, among them three missiles of the “Banderol” type and two drones, violated Moldova’s airspace on Saturday morning and exploded on the country’s territory, the Moldovan authorities announced.

Moldova’s President, Maia Sandu, said the five Russian aircraft violated the country’s airspace within a period of about 15 minutes, during Russia’s massive attacks on Ukraine during the night of 2 and 3 October.

“Five Russian aircraft, including ‘Banderol’ missiles and drones, violated the airspace and exploded on our territory,” Sandu announced.

She warned that Russia’s war against Ukraine poses a direct danger to Moldovan citizens as well.

Moldova’s Defence Minister, Anatolie Nosatîi, later clarified that the five aircraft were not all drones.

According to him, three were missiles and two were drones, while the authorities have documented five cases of them crossing into Moldovan airspace.

According to the Moldovan authorities’ data, the incidents were recorded around 07:45–08:00.

Moldova’s Foreign Ministry condemned the violation of the country’s airspace in the context of the Russian attacks on Ukraine.

The authorities called on citizens not to approach drone wreckage or other suspicious objects and to immediately notify the emergency services on the number 112.

In a statement made a day earlier in Helsinki, Sandu said that during 2026 Russian drones had entered Moldova’s airspace more than 45 times, while eight such cases had been recorded in the last week alone.

She said Moldova is strengthening its air defence and modernising its army to respond to these risks.

In her reaction after today’s incident, Sandu said Russia must stop the war and that, as long as the attacks on Ukraine continue, Kyiv needs support to protect its population and the security of the region.

According to the Moldovan authorities, today’s incidents occurred as part of Russia’s wide aerial attacks on Ukraine.