Source : Perth Now news
A plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Oslo for the funeral of the king of Norway was “almost hit” by a drone when taking off from Moldova, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere has told public broadcaster NRK.
“His plane was almost hit by a drone as it was about to take off from Moldova. That is the reality he is facing,” Stoere said.
Stoere did not say what his source was for this information or how close the drone was.
Zelenskiy on Wednesday attended the funeral of King Harald V of Norway, marching behind his coffin along with other heads of state in central Oslo.
He left Norway soon after the funeral was over.
Stoere had said in a statement on Tuesday that he would meet the Ukrainian leader that evening, with their discussions to focus on Ukraine’s air defence.
Zelenskiy had said there would also be discussions with companies taking part in the Freyja initiative to create a European anti-ballistic system while he was in Norway.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had a “great” conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the week and that the Russian leader wanted to make a deal to end the Ukraine war.
“He is wanting to make a deal, and if Zelenskiy is wanting to make a deal, that’d be very nice,” Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One en route to Dallas for the Republican National Convention.
Trump spoke over the phone with Putin on Tuesday, shortly after US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner returned from a diplomatic swing through Moscow and Kyiv.
The duo, who are in charge of most major peace negotiations for the US, discussed potential proposals to bring the war to a close.
Last month Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe met with intelligence officials in Moscow, in part to encourage Russian officials to end their invasion.
Despite those efforts and Trump’s statements, intelligence officials in the US, Ukraine and throughout Europe continue to doubt Putin is seriously interested in ending his ongoing war, now in its fourth year.
“The hold-up is two people who hate each other,” Trump told reporters, referring to Putin and Zelenskiy.
“I think more than anything else, it’s two people that hate each other.”
