The night of July 13 was a time of alarm for the residents of the Moldovan village of Copanca. Around 1:03 AM, a call was received on the emergency line 112 from local residents: a small aircraft resembling a drone was spotted on the outskirts of the village. Shortly after crashing, the device exploded and caught fire.
Operational response and investigation
Police and firefighters immediately arrived at the scene. The area around the crash site was immediately cordoned off. Preliminary data suggests that no one was injured as a result of the incident. Law enforcement agencies are already conducting an investigation to establish all the circumstances of what happened.
Official position of the Moldovan authorities
The Ministry of Defense of Moldova officially stated that the crashed drone belonged to the "Geran-2" type. According to the ministry, the aircraft entered the country's airspace during Russian air attacks on the Odesa region of Ukraine.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Moldova condemned this incident as a serious and unacceptable violation of airspace. The ministry emphasized that Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine creates direct threats to the security of Moldovan citizens and the entire region.
History of similar incidents
This is not the first case of a violation of Moldova's airspace. In May of this year, a similar drone also flew over the territory of the country during a massive attack on Ukraine. At that time, the aircraft moved over several districts for several hours, forcing authorities to temporarily close the airspace.
Global context: debris outside the region
Debris from similar drones has been found far beyond the conflict zone. It was previously reported that an unknown drone, likely of Russian manufacture, was washed ashore on a beach in Turkey. The device remained in the water for a long time, after which its debris was sent to Ankara for forensic examination.
