Russia targeted the plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy twice in recent weeks, Zelenskyy announced this in an interview with CBS News on Tuesday.
"My presidential plane was in Moldova, and that is precisely why they attacked Moldova. When we were returning home—again via Chisinau—they did the same thing," Zelenskyy stated.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre had previously stated that Zelenskyy's plane "narrowly escaped being hit" by a drone in Moldovan airspace when the Ukrainian leader flew to Oslo on September 9, adding: "That is the reality he lives in."
The incident involving the incursion of drones into Moldovan airspace during the presidential plane's return flight had not been previously reported.
Ukrainian officials later stated that all members of the presidential delegation were safe, and at the time, it was unclear whether the incident was intentional. On Tuesday, Zelenskyy said it was part of a Russian strategy aimed at intimidating him and other foreign leaders.
Additionally, on Sunday, a Russian drone struck a passenger train carrying high-ranking foreign officials visiting Ukraine—including senior European officials and former CIA Director David Petraeus—forcing them to evacuate near the Polish border.
"They might not have known that Americans were there, or perhaps, on the contrary, they did know—because I don't trust them. I think they knew. That is why they carried out the attack when Europeans, Americans, and a large delegation were on that train," Zelenskyy said.
