Russia Deliberately Sends Drones Into Moldovan Airspace, Moldovan President Says

Moldovan President Maia Sandu said Russia might be deliberately sending drones into Moldova’s airspace. Sandu made the remarks on Monday, Aug. 17 during the broadcast of “At 360 Degrees” on Teleradio Moldova, saying that the pattern of drone trajectories offers a clue to the question whether the airspace violations are coincidental or a deliberate test of the region’s response capacity.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Judging by the trajectory of those drones, we can say which are sent intentionally and which are there by chance,” Sandu said, adding that in both cases, the drones violate the country’s airspace – a pattern also seen in Romania and Poland. “And the only one who is guilty, the only party that is guilty of these things, is the Russian Federation, which started this war,” she continued. Ambassador’s expulsion unlikely to make real changes When asked whether Chișinău might expel Russia’s ambassador, Oleg Ozerov, over the repeated airspace violations, Sandu was skeptical that the move could change anything. “Do you think this is a method that will stop Russia from its actions? I don’t think so,” she said, according to a Moldovan media outlet Newsmaker. According to Sandu, Chișinău has already sent protest notes to Moscow without effect, arguing that “Russia’s policy doesn’t change.” She pointed to backing Ukraine’s war effort as the only measure with real leverage. Other Topics of Interest Russia Faces New Fuel Shortage, Gasoline Sales Fall 20% Fuel shortages have returned to parts of Russia, with authorities tightening gasoline sales controls in at least 10 regions after a new wave of refinery strikes. “For Ukraine to succeed in this war,” she said, is “the most important thing that can be done in order to stop these drones.” According to her, Chișinău has seen for years that “the Russian Federation does not care about the protest notes.” Pattern of incursions continues The president’s remarks come after a series of drone incidents along Moldova’s border in recent weeks. According to United24Media, a Russian “Banderol” loitering munition crossed from the Odesa region into Moldova on Monday, before crashing near the village of Tălmaza in the country’s Ștefan Vodă district. Separately, around 4:30 a.m. on Aug. 16, a drone entered Moldovan airspace from Ukraine and flew over the country for 18 minutes before continuing toward Galaţi, Romania. A Spanish F-18 fighter jet on combat patrol shot the drone down. The marked the fourth such instance of an intruding drone being shot down over Romania. According to Moldova’s Ministry of Defense, the drone was identified as a Shahed 138 (Geran-2) frequently used to target Ukrainian cities. The interception followed the discovery of drone fragments in four separate locations within a 24-hour period on Aug. 14. Earlier in that same week, on Aug. 11, Romanian military divers conducted controlled explosions to destroy two drifting Russian-produced Gerbera drones in the Black Sea. Russia may escalate the war beyond Ukraine’s borders The incidents come as Moldova continues to move forward with its EU accession bid, a process directly tied to Ukraine’s own membership path. Similar drone incursions have been repeatedly reported over NATO’s territory, particularly in Romania and Poland in the recent weeks, fueling speculation that Russia may be testing the alliance’s response capacity along the eastern flank. According to US intelligence, Russia could attempt to test NATO by launching a limited attack on an allied country in the coming years, with scenarios ranging from cyberattacks and sabotage to covert operations using unidentified armed groups. On Aug. 6, German police found an explosives-laden drone near a Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle Airport, forcing flight diversions and a bomb-disposal operation. Meanwhile, Russia continues to use hybrid warfare tactics across the EU and US, including recruiting individuals through Telegram channels to carry out paid tasks. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.