23:31

A plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from Moldova to Oslo faced a drone threat that delayed its departure, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said.

Axar.az reports, citing Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, that a spokesperson for the Norwegian Prime Minister’s Office later said there had been a drone threat in Moldovan airspace that delayed Zelensky’s flight, but it was unclear how close the drones came to the aircraft.

“His flight was almost hit by a drone when it was taking off from Moldova,” Store told NRK.

“There was a drone threat in Moldovan airspace yesterday, which delayed Zelensky’s plane on its way to Oslo. These are the kinds of threats he lives with every day. It is uncertain how close the drones came to his plane,” Store added.

Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg, who met with Zelensky after his arrival, said the Ukrainian president had told officials about the incident, but he did not provide further details.

Zelensky arrived in Oslo on Tuesday evening to attend the funeral of Norway’s King Harald V. During his visit, he held talks with Store, Stoltenberg and Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide on the war in Ukraine and Kyiv’s need for additional air defence systems.