Drone Violates Moldovan Airspace Amid Russian Attacks on Ukraine

A drone crossed into Moldovan airspace early Saturday morning, Aug. 22, during a Russian aerial attack on Ukraine, NewsMaker reported. Specialized airspace monitoring services, in coordination with partners, detected the unauthorized flight at 4:07 a.m. local time.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The aircraft, preliminarily identified as a Shahed-138 (Geran-3) drone, crossed the state border from the direction of Krutoyarivka in Ukraine’s Odesa region, flying toward the Moldovan village of Caplani in the Ștefan Vodă district. The drone traversed Moldovan territory for approximately 17 minutes before leaving the national airspace at 4:24 a.m. and returning to Ukraine along the same route. The defense ministry emphasized that the unauthorized overflight occurred in the context of Russia’s air attacks against Ukraine. Intentional testing of regional response The incident is the latest in a series of drone incursions along Moldova’s border. Earlier in the week, Moldovan President Maia Sandu stated that Russia might be deliberately sending drones into the country’s airspace. During an Aug. 17 interview on Teleradio Moldova, Sandu said that the pattern of drone trajectories offers clues as to whether the airspace violations are coincidental or a deliberate test of the region’s response capacity. “Judging by the trajectory of those drones, we can say which are sent intentionally and which are there by chance,” Sandu said, noting that both scenarios violate the country’s airspace – a pattern also observed in Romania and Poland. She stated that Russia is the only party responsible for the incursions. Other Topics of Interest Russia Strikes Boryspil and Zaporizhzhia, Killing 5 People Russian strikes on the Boryspil district and Zaporizhzhia region on Saturday, Aug. 22, killed a total of five people and injured at least 20 others. Sandu expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of diplomatic measures, such as expelling Russia’s ambassador, noting that Chișinău has sent numerous protest notes to Moscow without result. She argued that backing Ukraine’s war effort is the only measure with real leverage. Pattern of recent airspace incursions The Aug. 22 incident follows several recent airspace violations in the region. On Aug. 16, a drone identified as a Shahed-138 (Geran-2) entered Moldovan airspace from Ukraine and flew over the country for 18 minutes before continuing toward Galați, Romania. The drone was subsequently shot down by a Spanish F-18 fighter jet on combat patrol over Romania. The interception marked the fourth instance of an intruding drone being shot down over Romania and followed the discovery of drone fragments in four separate Romanian locations on Aug. 14. The recurring incidents coincide with Moldova’s ongoing EU accession bid, a process tied to Ukraine’s membership path, and follow US intelligence warnings that Russia could attempt to test NATO’s eastern flank. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.