---
title: "Peskov claims there was 'no threat' to Zelensky's plane in Chisinau: what Norway and Moldova say"
description: "Peskov claimed there was 'no threat' to Zelensky's plane in Chisinau, calling the incident 'ephemeral.' Meanwhile, Norway and Moldova confirmed a flight delay due to a Russian drone in the airspace."
date: 2026-09-10T11:58:01.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/peskov-denies-threat-to-zelenskys-plane-in-moldova
tags: [zelensky, peskov, moldova, drone, ukraine-russia, norway]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Peskov claims there was 'no threat' to Zelensky's plane in Chisinau: what Norway and Moldova say

![Dmitry Peskov in context of statement that there was no threat to Zelensky's plane in Chisinau](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/10/peskov-opverg-ugrozu-samoletu-zelenskogo-v-moldove/peskov-opverg-ugrozu-samoletu-zelenskogo-v-moldove-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov claimed there was no threat to Zelensky's plane in Chisinau, calling it 'ephemeral.'
- Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre reported that the Ukrainian president's plane 'was nearly shot down by a drone' during takeoff from Moldova.
- Moldovan authorities confirmed a flight delay on September 8 due to a Russian drone that crashed in the Rîșcani district, about 160 km from the airport.
- The Ambassador of Moldova to the USA, Vladislav Kulminsky, allowed for a deliberate flight of the drone toward Zelensky's plane.

Press secretary to the Russian leader Dmitry Peskov commented on the incident involving the aircraft on which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was flying from Chisinau to Norway on September 8. According to Peskov, the previously announced threat to the plane from a drone allegedly did not exist. This is reported by RBC-Ukraine citing TASS. "As for the ephemeral threat to the plane, there was none. The Ukrainians themselves have acknowledged this," the Kremlin representative stated, adding that, in his assessment, Ukraine "continues to resort to various provocations," attempting to "drag its Western curators into the war."

### Position of Kyiv and Oslo: the incident did occur

The Moscow version contradicts the statements previously made from Kyiv and Oslo. The first to report the incident was the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, who stated that the Ukrainian president's plane "was nearly shot down by a drone during takeoff from Moldova." Thus, at the official level in Scandinavia, the incident is classified as a real threat, not as an "ephemeral" event, as Peskov described it.

### Confirmation from the Moldovan authorities

The Government of Moldova confirmed that Zelensky's departure from the country to Norway on September 8 was indeed delayed due to a Russian drone in the airspace of the republic. Permission for takeoff was granted only after it became known that the Russian drone had crashed and exploded near the village of Starîe Mihaileni in the Rîșcani district. According to available data, the crash site was located approximately 160 km from Chisinau International Airport.

### Consequences for the airport and the ambassador's assessment

Due to the declared air alert, three outbound flights and four inbound flights were delayed at Chisinau Airport. Particular attention should be paid to the statement by the Ambassador of Moldova to the USA, Vladislav Kulminsky: according to him, the Russian drone that violated the country's airspace may have been flying deliberately toward the plane of the President of Ukraine. This assessment indicates that the incident is viewed in Chisinau not as a random appearance of a UAV, but as a possible deliberate action.

### Contradictory data

There is a direct contradiction between the positions of the parties. On the one hand, Dmitry Peskov claims that there was "no threat" to the plane and that this was "acknowledged by the Ukrainians themselves," calling the incident "ephemeral." On the other hand, the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, stated that the plane "was nearly shot down by a drone," while the Government of Moldova confirmed the flight delay due to a Russian drone in the airspace and its crash in the Rîșcani district. Moreover, the Ambassador of Moldova to the USA allowed for a deliberate flight of the UAV toward the aircraft. Thus, the Kremlin's version of the absence of any threat finds no confirmation in the statements of Norway and Moldova, which, on the contrary, record a real incident and its consequences for the airport's operations.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Putin's side makes a statement on the incident with Zelensky's plane in Moldova](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/putina-zrobili-zayavu-shchodo-intsidentu-1789040879.html) - РБК-Украина со ссылкой на ТАСС передает заявление Пескова об отсутствии угрозы. Заявления премьера Норвегии, правительства Молдовы и посла Молдовы в США изложены в том же материале; между позициями сторон есть противоречие, что отражено в статье.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What did Dmitry Peskov say about the incident with Zelensky's plane?
**A:** Peskov claimed that there was 'no threat' to the plane, calling it 'ephemeral,' and asserted that this was 'acknowledged by the Ukrainians themselves.'

### Q: What did the Moldovan authorities confirm?
**A:** The Government of Moldova confirmed that Zelensky's flight to Norway on September 8 was delayed due to a Russian drone in the airspace; the UAV crashed and exploded near the village of Starîe Mihaileni in the Rîșcani district, approximately 160 km from Chisinau Airport.

### Q: Which flights were delayed at Chisinau Airport?
**A:** Due to the air alert, three outbound flights and four inbound flights were delayed.

### Q: Is a deliberate nature of the incident being considered?
**A:** The Ambassador of Moldova to the USA, Vladislav Kulminsky, stated that the Russian drone that violated the airspace may have been flying deliberately toward the plane of the President of Ukraine.