CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — A flight scheduled to carry Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from Moldova to Norway was delayed when authorities closed Moldova’s airspace because of a drone incursion, a government spokesperson said Wednesday.
Moldovan police said a Russian drone crashed on Tuesday in a sunflower field on the outskirts of a village in Riscani district, which caused four fires to break out but no injuries.
On Wednesday, government spokesperson Dumitru Ciorici said Moldova had closed its airspace on Tuesday afternoon to protect aircraft flying over the country at the time, delaying three departures, including the one carrying Zelenskyy.
Moldovan authorities confirmed the drone came down and exploded 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Chișinău International Airport. The airspace restrictions were lifted and Zelenskyy’s plane took off later than scheduled.
The drone that entered Moldovan airspace on Tuesday crossed into neighboring Romania, a NATO member, where it was tracked through several northeastern counties.
The ministry said two F-18 aircraft of the Spanish Air and Space Forces were raised to track its trajectory before it reentered Moldovan airspace.
On Wednesday, Moldova’s police said explosives experts discovered fragments of the drone that featured a propulsion system and characteristics similar to a Geran-type drone, which Moscow has used extensively in its full-scale war in Ukraine.
“Investigations identified the point of impact, where an explosion occurred and a crater of considerable size was formed,” police said, adding that specialists are continuing investigations “to determine the type and mass of the explosive payload.”
Ukraine neighbors both Romania and Moldova, and since Russia’s full invasion in 2022, both countries have reported dozens of drone incidents.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is transported after arriving in Oslo, Norway, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, one day ahead of King Harald V's funeral. (Frederik Ringnes/NTB Scanpix via AP)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Helena Foulkes has defeated Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee in the state’s Democratic primary, making him the first governor in any U.S. state to lose a party primary since 2018.
McKee’s defeat ends his bid for a second full term and marks the first time in more than 30 years that a sitting Rhode Island governor has been beaten in a primary.
Foulkes, a former senior executive at CVS and the retailer Hudson’s Bay, narrowly lost to McKee in a more crowded primary field in 2022, when the governor notably refused to take her concession call.
In their rematch, McKee has been dogged by questions about his administration’s work to replace a critical bridge in the state capital that was abruptly closed due to safety problems in 2023.
Foulkes has leveraged public exasperation over the cost and pace of the bridge project for her argument that McKee's administration isn’t working for most Rhode Islanders.
“People feel like state government just works with a powerful few,” she said. “They don’t think it’s working for them."
McKee, in response, characterized Foulkes as an out-of-touch elite who turned a blind eye to the opioid crisis during her tenure at CVS.
“The option here is somebody who wants to buy this state office who doesn’t have any credibility with their policy thoughts and someone like myself, who has a strong record in terms of working people,” McKee told The Associated Press earlier this month.
Incumbent governors rarely lose party primaries. The last time it happened in Rhode Island was in 1994, when Democrat Bruce Sundlun lost to state Sen. Myrth York, ending his bid for a third term. In that race, Sundlun was facing multiple controversies and voter fatigue while York ran on reform.
McKee has been governor since 2021, when he stepped into the position after then-Gov. Gina Raimondo was tapped as U.S. commerce secretary.
In 2023, McKee closed the Washington Bridge, a vital link that carries Interstate 195 over the Seekonk River and connects Providence to its eastern suburbs, the south coast of Massachusetts. During the summer, it also carries traffic bound for Cape Cod.
State transportation officials had flagged a “critical failure” in an older part of the bridge, but demolishing and replacing it has taken longer than the governor initially estimated. Traffic continues to flow but has been squeezed into fewer lanes on a newer part of the span. This has led to lengthy commute times for many who cross the bridge daily as signs posted along the bridge thank drivers for their patience.
McKee maintains that his decisions kept people safe and that the bridge construction will be finished by 2028. He often points to Maryland, saying the Washington Bridge will be complete ahead of the replacement of Baltimore's much larger Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed and killed six construction workers in 2024 after a container ship crashed into it.
Foulkes' grandfather and uncle, Thomas and Chris Dodd, were both Democratic U.S. senators in Connecticut. She worked at CVS for 25 years, eventually becoming president of the company’s pharmacy division between 2014 and 2018. She then became chief executive officer of the Canadian retail giant Hudson’s Bay before leaving that job in 2020.
When pressed on her time at CVS, Foulkes argued that CVS reduced its opioid dispensing by 40% when she was president of CVS’ pharmacy division. In 2022, after Foulkes had left CVS, the company agreed to pay $5 billion to settle lawsuits nationwide over the toll of opioids without admitting wrongdoing.
The last governor to lose in a primary was former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer, who narrowly lost the Republican nomination to Kris Kobach in 2018.
In the Republican gubernatorial primary, Aaron Guckian and Elaine Pelino are vying for the nomination. Guckian is a state trade association executive and was the nominee for lieutenant governor in 2022. He won the two-way primary that year with about 68% of the vote. Pelino is a former actor and first-time candidate. The state party has endorsed Guckian.
Notably, Rhode Island’s primary elections are being held on a Wednesday after state lawmakers moved the date from its typical Tuesday election day because it fell too close to Labor Day.
Only four states hold their primary elections in September: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Delaware, which has the latest primary date in the U.S., taking place this year on Sept. 15.
FILE - Candidate for Rhode Island governor Helena Buonanno Foulkes speaks during a Get Out the Vote event, Aug. 30, 2026, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell, File)
FILE - Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee gives an acceptance speech in front of supporters at a primary election night watch party in Providence, R.I., Sept. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
Candidate for Rhode Island governor Helena Buonanno Foulkes speaks during a Get Out the Vote event, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, in Providence. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
