A drone approximately 2.5 meters long was discovered in the garden of a non-residential building in the village of Crocmaz, Ștefan Vodă district, Moldova’s Foreign Ministry reported on X on Jan. 22.
Later, the ministry clarified that the drone was Russian.
“Such incidents are unacceptable and violate our sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the ministry said in a statement. “Moldova strongly condemns Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and will continue to protect its citizens and territory.”
As local outlet NewsMaker reported, the drone posed a danger because it carried explosives. Locals were evacuated, and specialists from the police technical-explosive unit are to carry out a controlled detonation on site.
Overnight into Jan. 17, a Russian Gerbera drone without a warhead fell on Moldovan territory. Moldova’s police noted that previously discovered Russian drones in the country did not contain explosives.