Evidence

Multiple independent outlets corroborate this claim closely matching the original CBS News report. CBS News itself reported that a plane carrying Zelenskyy from Moldova to Oslo was 'almost hit by a drone' per Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Støre, while 'a source in the Ukrainian presidency' told AFP the claim that Zelenskyy was at risk was 'exaggerated,' describing it instead as 'an alert in Moldova when a Russian [drone] entered Moldovan and Romanian airspace.' Meduza, citing CBS News, reported the same framing: Zelensky said drones entered Moldovan airspace twice while his plane was there, and a source in his office called the near-collision report 'an exaggeration.' The Kyiv Independent, Washington Times, Fox News, CNN, RFE/RL and the Financial Times all reported on the underlying incident (a Russian Shahed/Geran-type drone crossing Moldovan and Romanian airspace around Sept. 8-9, prompting a temporary Chișinău airspace closure, drone crash near Chisinau, and a delayed Zelenskyy departure). An AllSides 'Misinformation Watch' piece compiling these accounts found some inconsistencies between outlets (e.g., Moldova and Romania's defense ministries differing on timing/drone type, and the New York Times noting Moldovan authorities did not confirm the 'almost hit' framing, with Zelensky's office initially declining comment to NYT), but it did not dispute that the exaggeration quote and twice-entered-airspace claim were accurately reported from CBS/AFP sourcing.