On Friday, 23 October, a drone came down about 100 metres from a dwelling in Chiștelnița, Telenești district. Police reported no victims so far.
The Foreign Ministry said it would declare an employee of the Russian Embassy in Chișinău persona non grata, calling the crash a serious violation of Moldova's sovereignty.
As of 16 October, the Defence Ministry had recorded 63 airspace violations in 2026, 15 of them in October, and more than 100 since February 2022.
A drone came down on Friday, 23 October, in the village of Chiștelnița in Telenești district, about 100 metres from a dwelling, according to police. A local resident alerted the authorities, and officers sealed off the area to keep people away while specialists from the police technical-explosives unit were sent to examine the aircraft. Police said no victims had been reported so far and that it was not yet known where the drone came from, whether it carried explosives or how it reached the ground. President Maia Sandu wrote on X that the drone had also crashed near an energy installation. Photographs published by the authorities led some reports to say the aircraft resembled a Geran-4, a jet-powered Russian attack drone, but the type had not been confirmed.
Also on Friday, the Defence Ministry reported that a drone had overflown Moldovan airspace without authorisation. It was detected at 13:59, coming from the Vinnytsia region of Ukraine and heading for Frunzeuca in Camenca district. The ministry said it dropped out of monitoring near Pepeni in Sîngerei district, reappeared briefly and was last tracked at 14:12 near Meșeni in Rezina district.
The Defence Ministry's count as of 16 October showed 63 airspace violations in 2026, 15 of them in October. Since the full-scale war began in February 2022, the ministry has recorded more than 100 illegal overflights, and more than half of the drones have fallen on Moldovan territory, mostly outside settlements, with many exploding.
Data from the article text
The Foreign Ministry called the crash in Chiștelnița a serious violation of Moldova's sovereignty and security and a direct threat to the safety of citizens. As a response, an employee of the Russian Embassy in Chișinău will be declared persona non grata, a step some reports described as the expulsion of a diplomat. The ministry urged Russia to stop actions that endanger regional security and people's lives. Russian authorities had not yet commented on the decision. The ministry's statement said:
“Such actions are unacceptable and demonstrate, once again, the risks generated by the Russian Federation's war of aggression against Ukraine.”
Maia Sandu condemned the violation of Moldovan airspace by a Russian drone, writing on X:
“The war waged by Russia continues to endanger the lives of citizens of the Republic of Moldova.”
In the same post she said the drone had crashed near homes and an energy installation and that Moldova condemned what she called a new dangerous act. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sîbiha said Kyiv stood with Moldova in condemning what he described as Russia's flagrant violation of Moldovan airspace. He also called for a firm and united European response to Moscow's aggressive actions.
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A Russian attack drone came down on Friday, 23 October, about 100 metres from a house in Chiștelnița, Telenești district. No injuries were reported, and the foreign ministry said it would declare a Russian embassy employee persona non grata.
AI text based on reports by G4Media.ro, Libertatea, Stirile ProTV and other publishers. Published .