A Russian drone crossed briefly into the airspace of a NATO ally amid a massive wave of Russian attacks against Ukraine.
It came after Russian strikes hit a train that shortly before had been carrying key Western officials, including British former PM Boris Johnson.
Drone Crosses Into Moldova Airspace
A translated statement from authorities in Moldova reads: “Amidst the massive attacks launched by the Russian Federation against Ukraine this morning—including in the Odesa region—the Air Operations Service detected the unauthorized flight of a drone that briefly crossed into the airspace of the Republic of Moldova near the village of Palanca.”
The drone reportedly crossed into Moldova from Ukraine and went around 500m into Moldova before returning to Ukraine “along the same trajectory.” The statement continues: “The unauthorized crossing was confirmed by representatives of both the Border Police of the Republic of Moldova and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
“National authorities, together with their partners, continue to monitor the airspace to ensure the safety of citizens.”
Casualties From Massive Attack Wave
In the Black Sea port of Odesa and the surrounding area, 35 people were wounded overnight in what regional head Oleh Kiper called a “massive attack.” Among the buildings hit was a residential high-rise, whose upper floors were completely destroyed.
Three people were killed on Saturday when cars were hit by drones in Kramatorsk in Ukraine’s partially occupied Donetsk region, along with a further two people in a Russian attack on a grocery store in the Zhytomyr region, local officials said.
Western Officials Narrowly Escape Train Strike
It comes after a Russian drone struck a train near the Ukraine- Poland border on Sunday shortly after senior visiting officials, including the former prime ministers of the U.K. and Sweden, passed through, Ukraine’s state rail operator said.
According to Ukrzaliznytsia, a diplomatic train carrying Boris Johnson, Carl Bildt and security advisers from several European Union states had purposely left the station at Yahodyn ahead of schedule. The visitors were on their way back from a security conference in Kyiv.
“It is highly probable that the Russian drone ‘s intended target was in fact the diplomatic train, which had departed the station earlier than scheduled,” the company said in a Telegram post.
Bildt, the former Swedish PM, shared a video on X of the attack at Yahodyn station, near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing with Poland.
“This wasn’t our train, but the one just minutes after us by the Polish border crossing,” Bildt said. “It was evacuated as the Russian drone approached and no one was hurt. Very good safety system. Our train just had an evacuation warning.”
Conference Attendees and Further Attacks
Bildt, Johnson and fellow passengers had been in Kyiv for the Yalta European Strategy conference, which is an annual gathering of leaders and experts across politics, business, security and media.
Another train, with former CIA Director David Petraeus on board, was still at Yahodyn station when the drone struck, according to Ukrzaliznytsia.
There were no immediate reports of casualties on any of the trains.
Separately, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces struck two chemical industry facilities in Russia, one in Samara and one in Perm. The governors of the regions did not immediately comment, but Russian independent online news outlet Astra reported drone attacks on chemical plants in both regions.