Chișinău accuses Ambassador Ozerov of “cynicism” over demand for evidence of Russian drones
The Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Chisinau, Oleg Ozerov, has taken a "cynical approach" by questioning the evidence regarding Russian drones violating the airspace of the Republic of Moldova. This statement comes from Mihai Popșoi, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. According to the head of diplomacy in Chisinau, the illegal overflights of Moldovan airspace are "a fact," not merely an "assumption."
*"He pretends not to know or understand whose drones and missiles daily destroy and annihilate hundreds and thousands of human lives. This cynical approach does not surprise us. At the same time, the excuse that it wouldn't be a Russian drone, or questioning the evidence of a drone flyover in our airspace, seems to ignore previous instances when he was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During one such visit, he was presented with evidence of the "Geran-2" drone, which not only flew over our airspace but was also armed with explosives and fell dangerously close to civilian homes in the south of our country. At that time, he didn't inquire about the evidence," commented Mihai Popșoi on a TV8 show.
Minister Popșoi clarified that Oleg Ozerov continues to hold the status of an accredited ambassador, though not yet accredited to the Republic of Moldova.
"Our attempts to secure his accreditation have failed, mainly due to similar incidents. There were efforts to accredit him, but unfortunate events disrupted that process. Either representatives of the Russian authorities made highly inappropriate statements against the Republic of Moldova, or a drone exploded over our airspace. In light of these occurrences, we could not reasonably expect the accreditation of the Russian Federation's ambassador," Popșoi explained.
The head of Moldovan diplomacy has ruled out, for now, declaring the accredited ambassador persona non grata. He noted that this serious action could harm Moldovan citizens residing in the Russian Federation.
"We have an accredited ambassador in Russia who works to promote Moldovan interests there. If we take any action regarding the accredited ambassador of the Russian Federation here, we can reasonably anticipate retaliation that would affect our representation in Moscow and the interests of our citizens and economic agents. Nevertheless, this is a sovereign decision for Moldova, and if incidents arise that require more decisive action, we will not hesitate to make such decisions," Deputy Prime Minister Mihai Popșoi pointed out.
The Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Chisinau, Oleg Ozerov, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on November 20 after a drone illegally flew over the airspace of the Republic of Moldova on November 19. Representatives from the Ministry submitted a note of protest to the Russian diplomat regarding this "serious violation of national sovereignty." Upon leaving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters, Ozerov stated that he had not been presented with evidence showing that the drone was of Russian origin.
The incident occurred on the night of November 19, when a drone violated the airspace of the Republic of Moldova. The Ministry of Defense confirmed this after exchanging information with partners from Ukraine and Romania, who reported the aircraft's presence over national territory. The drone entered Moldovan airspace around 03:30, coming from the direction of the Lesnaia settlement in Ukraine and moving toward Saiți in the Ștefan Vodă district.
The drone flew at an altitude of approximately 100 meters, making it undetectable by Moldovan airspace monitoring systems.
This is not the first occurrence of such violations. Since the beginning of the war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, several Russian drones have illegally entered Moldovan airspace, with some crashing on Moldovan territory and exploding near populated areas.
