Today the government of Moldova ordered the closure for a few hours of the airspace, which is currently open. A choice determined by unspecified reasons of national security. The decision comes hours after Moldovan President Maia Sandu accused Russia of an alleged plot to bring down her government. Facts denied by the Kremlin.

According to reports, the Moldovan civil aviation authority closed the airspace at 11:24 local time, and then reopened it at 14:47. The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) manages the airspace in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) which includes, among others, Russia, Belarus and Moldova, but Chișinău in 1999 asked not to be subject to the agency control.

Moldova is going through a difficult period. The pro-Western government, led by Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita, resigned on February 10, after 18 months in power, following protests over the economic and political crisis triggered by the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. That same day a Russian missile violated Moldovan airspace. According to Sandu it was a signal confirming the Russian plan to subvert the constitutional order in Chișinău.