CHISINAU, June 8 (Reuters) – A Ukrainian drone crossed into Moldova early on Monday and fragments of it showing traces of an explosion were found in a field near the eastern village of Lopatna, not far from Ukraine’s border, Moldova’s authorities said.
Moldova’s surveillance systems detected the drone crossing into the country at 12:20 a.m. local time on Monday (2120 GMT on Sunday) from the direction of the Mihailovca-Lopatna locality, Moldova’s defence ministry said.
Moldova’s foreign ministry said in a later statement that the drone was Ukrainian but that it was Russia that bore responsibility for the incident.
“Regardless of the drone’s origin, Russia – which launched an illegal war in the neighbouring country – bears responsibility for any unmanned aerial vehicle that enters Moldovan territory,” the foreign ministry said, adding that Moldova continued to stand in solidarity with Ukraine.
A spokesperson for Ukraine’s foreign ministry said Kyiv was in close contact with the Moldovan side on the details of the incident.
The drone fragments were found in an agricultural field near the Lopatna locality, the defence ministry said in a statement, adding that traces at the scene indicated “the previous occurrence of an explosion”.
The defence ministry noted there had been a Russian overnight attack in neighbouring Ukraine.
Moldova has dealt with numerous incidents of Russian drones flying over its territory or debris landing in areas near the border.
President Maia Sandu said on Sunday the war in Ukraine showed that her country badly needed high-technology interceptor drones and new legislation was required to facilitate their manufacture.
(Reporting by Alexander Tanas, writing by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
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