Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has said that a plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from Moldova to Oslo was almost struck by a drone.

Zelenskyy, whose country has been fighting a Russian invasion that began in February 2022, arrived in Norway's capital on Tuesday evening to attend the funeral of Norway's King Harald V.

"His flight was almost hit by a drone when it was taking off from Moldova," Støre told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK on Wednesday. "That is the reality he lives in."

Støre did not specify his source for this information or how close the drone came.

While in Oslo, Zelenskyy held talks with Støre, and the two leaders also met with defense industry executives to discuss advancing a European anti-ballistic system codenamed FREYJA.

In a social media post, Zelenskyy said the meeting focused on dividing responsibilities between governments and defense companies and agreeing on steps needed to produce the first practical results from the program.

"We expect to see the first practical results. I am grateful to Norway for hosting this meeting. I thank our partners for their readiness to work together. Protecting Europe's skies is our shared responsibility," the Ukrainian president said.

His comments came as Ukrainian regional officials said at least eight people were killed in Russian attacks on Wednesday, including along the Ukraine-Moldova border and in the southeast.

Source: www.aljazeera.com