Moldova says Russian drones entered its airspace again, posing aviation threat

CHISINAU, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Moldovan authorities said on Saturday that Russian drones had entered the country's airspace, posing a threat to aviation, in the third such incident in nine days.

President Maia Sandu, who wants to bring Moldova into the European Union by 2030, has denounced Russia's war in Ukraine and accused Moscow of attempting to destabilise the ex-Soviet state, which lies between Ukraine and EU member Romania.

The latest incident coincided with a large Russian attack on Kyiv and other Ukrainian targets, killing three people and wounding nearly 30. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had launched around 36 missiles and nearly 600 drones.

Moldova's interior ministry said it had identified two drones as Russian and that they had flown over Moldovan territory, prompting the closure of its airspace.

They later flew into Ukrainian territory, it added.

"In the course of this incident, which posed a serious threat to flight safety, Moldova's airspace was closed for an hour and 10 minutes from 22.43 to 23.53 (2043 to 2153 GMT) on the orders of the civil aviation authority," it said.

Sandu, writing on the X media platform, said: "On their way to kill civilians, Russian drones again violated Moldovan airspace, forcing its temporary closure. We condemn these attacks and stand with Ukraine."

Moldova, which complained of a similar intrusion on November 20 and again earlier this week, described the latest incident as intimidation in the context of the conflict in Ukraine and denounced "illegal and dangerous actions posing a threat to civil flights and peoples' lives".

Russia's Ambassador to Moldova, Oleg Ozerov, has been repeatedly summoned to its foreign ministry over the incidents.

Ozerov suggested the incidents were aimed at worsening already poor relations between Moscow and Chisinau.

Since Sandu was first elected in 2020, Moscow has accused Moldova of being behind unfriendly actions and whipping up anti-Russian sentiment.

(Reporting by Alexander Tanas, writing by Ron Popeski, editing by Alexander Smith and Diane Craft)