Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy departed for London on Wednesday for an official visit, flying from the airport in the Polish city of Rzeszow and abandoning the transit route through Chisinau. The information was reported by Ukrainian media, as cited by Antikor.
It is the first time after an extended break that the Ukrainian presidential delegation has once again used the logistics hub in Rzeszow for foreign trips.
According to the cited source, the route change comes after relations between Kyiv and Warsaw became strained in late May and early June. At the time, Polish President Karol Nawrocki reportedly decided to revoke Zelenskyy’s Order of the White Eagle in connection with the naming of a unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in honour of the heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). In response, the Ukrainian leader allegedly returned the decoration to the Polish side by post.
Following this diplomatic dispute, Zelenskyy reportedly changed the routes used for his foreign visits, turning to Chisinau International Airport instead.
However, the Ukrainian delegation’s transit through the Republic of Moldova has also been associated with security risks. In early September 2026, the departure of the presidential aircraft from Chisinau International Airport was temporarily delayed during Zelenskyy’s visit to Norway.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store later said that a Russian drone had been reported in the region’s airspace. The authorities in Chisinau and Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu confirmed that the flight had been delayed for security reasons, clarifying that the presidential aircraft was on the ground at the time of the incident.