Moldova says two more drones violated its airspace

By Alexander Tanas

CHISINAU (Reuters) - Two drones violated Moldovan airspace late on Sunday near the border with Ukraine, the government said, three days after the Russian ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry in connection with an earlier incident.

Moldova, which lies between Ukraine and European Union member Romania, has seen repeated intrusions by Russian drones deployed in the nearly three-year-old war pitting Moscow against Kyiv.

The incidents have prompted an angry response from Moldovan authorities, who want the ex-Soviet state to join the EU by 2030.

Government spokesperson Daniel Voda did not identify the origin of the two latest drones, but said the intrusion occurred just before 11 p.m. local time as Ukraine reported that its southern Odesa region over the border was under Russian attack.

Both drones had left Moldovan airspace not far from the town of Taraclia, Voda said.

In incidents last week, two drones had fallen in the same area near the Ukrainian border and one exploded.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who accuses Russia of trying to destabilise her government, said Moscow was endangering Moldovan lives.

Russian Ambassador Oleg Ozerov, summoned to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry last week, was shown fragments of the drones, including one piece bearing the name Geran-2, the Russian designation of the Iranian-designed Shahed drone.

Following that incident, the Moldovan Foreign Ministry said it was denouncing a cultural agreement with Russia and closing down the Russian cultural centre in Chisinau. The centre was still operating at the end of last week.

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