Moldova reopens airspace after ‘security’ closure
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Officials closed Moldova's airspace after detecting a flying object resembling a weather balloon in the skies, authorities said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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CHISINAU - Moldova on Tuesday temporarily closed its airspace after detecting a flying object resembling a weather balloon, authorities said, amid tensions between the former Soviet republic and Russia.
The development comes a day after Moldova’s President Maia Sandu accused Russia of plotting to violently overthrow the country’s pro-European leadership with the help of saboteurs disguised as anti-government protesters.
Moldova’s Civil Aviation Authority said it had received a report flagging the detection of “a small unidentified object” on Tuesday.
It said it decided to close the country’s airspace as weather conditions made it impossible to follow or identify the object, “in order to assure the safety and security of civil aviation”.
The airspace was reopened more than two hours later.
A Moldovan newspaper had reported that “a foreign drone” was “flying without permission”.
In neighbouring Romania, a flying device with the outward features of a weather balloon was also detected at around 11,000 feet (3,350m).
It was not clear if it was the same object.
Two Romanian fighter jets under Nato command were scrambled to clarify the situation but were unable to confirm the object’s presence, the country’s defence ministry said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week told a European Union summit
Russia’s foreign ministry on Tuesday denied Moldova’s accusations
Moldova, a country of 2.6 million people wedged between Romania and Ukraine, received EU candidate status in the summer of 2022, but over the past year has been faced with numerous anti-government protests.
Over the past year, the war in neighbouring Ukraine has repeatedly caused multiple security concerns in the pro-European country as debris from Russian missiles landed on Moldovan territory.
Moldova also suffered energy blackouts
