Key facts
- A shell injured a Moldovan border guard at the Palanca-Mayaky-Udobne border crossing on Oct. 5.
- The shell struck a passenger bus and a control booth.
- The incident occurred during Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.
- Moldova temporarily closed the border crossing for investigations.
- Russia launched 205 attack drones and two loitering munitions against Ukraine overnight.
- Moldova's airspace has been violated multiple times by Russian weapons during attacks on Ukraine.
A shell that landed at the Palanca-Mayaky-Udobne border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova on Oct. 5 lightly injured a Moldovan border guard and struck a passenger bus and a control booth, according to Moldova's Border Police. The incident occurred at 9:38 a.m. local time amid Russian attacks targeting Ukrainian infrastructure.
Following the incident, Moldova's General Police Inspectorate closed the border crossing for the duration of its investigations and advised drivers to avoid the area, Moldovan media reported.
Overnight, Russia launched 205 attack drones and two loitering munitions against Ukraine, with Ukrainian air defenses reporting they shot down 172 of the drones and both munitions. Strikes were recorded at 13 locations in Ukraine, while debris from downed targets fell at three other sites.
Palanca is situated near Ukraine's Odesa Oblast, a region frequently targeted by Russian drone and missile attacks. Russia's ongoing military actions against Ukraine have repeatedly led to violations of Moldova's airspace and explosions on its territory.
On Oct. 3, Moldovan President Maia Sandu stated that five Russian air attack weapons, including missiles and drones, violated Moldova's airspace and exploded within the country during a Russian overnight assault on Ukraine. Sandu condemned the attack, writing on X that "(Russia's) war is dangerously reaching Moldova" and that "Moscow is putting lives at risk across Europe and must be stopped."
Earlier incidents include drone invasions of Moldovan airspace on Sept. 30, and suspected Russian drone crashes in Romania and Moldova on Sept. 24. On Aug. 17, a Russian cruise missile entered Moldovan airspace during an attack on Odesa before crashing in a cornfield near the village of Talmaz. The previous day, NATO fighter jets shot down a suspected Russian drone that violated Romanian airspace near the Moldovan border.