Zelensky's plane nearly hit by drone while leaving Moldova, Norway's prime minister says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's plane was nearly hit by a drone while taking off from Moldova en route to Norway, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said on Wednesday.

"His plane was almost hit by a drone as it was taking off from Moldova. That is the reality he is facing," Store said, Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported.

Zelensky arrived in Oslo from Moldova on Tuesday evening to attend the funeral of Norway's King Harald V.

He also held meetings with Store and other Norwegian officials on the war in Ukraine and Kyiv's need for additional air defense.

Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg, who was also present during a meeting with Zelensky, confirmed that the Ukrainian president had described problems with his departure from Moldova.

"He told us about it last night when we had a meeting with him. I don't dare go into the details about it, but he was delayed, and there were some threats against the plane," said Stoltenberg, who was the NATO chief when the war in Ukraine started.

Additional air defense for Ukraine was among the issues discussed during Zelensky's meetings with Norwegian officials, Store said.

He said Norwegian and Ukrainian industries were working to determine whether additional air defense could be provided to Ukraine and whether an industrial solution could allow Ukraine to produce air defense systems itself.