Ukrainian plane UR-ABA believed to carry Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and his and his wife Olena Zelenska lands at Gardermoen airport near Oslo before Norway's King Harald V's funeral on September 9, 2026 in Oslo. (Photo by Frederik Ringnes / NTB / AFP) / Norway OUT
Oslo: A plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from Moldova to Oslo was almost hit by a drone on Wednesday, said Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
Zelensky was traveling to Norway to attend the funeral of King Harald V.
"His flight was almost hit by a drone when it was taking off from Moldova. That is the reality he lives in," Store told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. He provided no other details about the incident.
(L-R) German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda and Moldova's President Maia Sandu walk at the procession in which the coffin of Norway's late King Harald V is carried from the Royal Palace to the Cathedral in Oslo, Norway, on September 9, 2026. (Photo by Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)
A source in the Ukrainian presidency offered a more nuanced account, telling AFP: "It was an alert in Moldova when a Russian (drone) entered Moldovan and Romanian airspace."
The source described as "exaggerated" the claim that Zelensky was at risk.
The Ukrainian leader arrived in Oslo on Tuesday evening, when he held talks with Store, Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide on Norwegian military aid, including air-defence support, and civilian assistance.
On Wednesday, he joined a host of other foreign dignitaries at the funeral of King Harald, who died on August 28 aged 89.
Zelensky left Norway afterwards, headed for Canada and talks with leaders there, Store told NRK.
