Russian Gerbera-type drone found after crash near residential area

According to Moldova 1, a drone was discovered on the evening of 6 February 2026 near the village of Lazo, in the Sofia area of Moldova's Drochia district. The outlet reports that the object was spotted by a shepherd, who alerted the authorities. Drochia police were notified, and the General Police Inspectorate secured the perimeter around the site.

Moldova 1 reports that experts from the technical-explosive unit were due to examine the object in detail. The article does not specify the condition of this particular drone or whether it carried explosives. The outlet advises citizens to avoid suspicious objects and to report any such findings to the authorities.

Moldova 1 notes that the type of this specific drone had not been confirmed at the time of reporting. The outlet states that technical examinations of drones found in earlier incidents had shown most were of the "Gerbera" type, many of them without explosives and used as decoys. The article frames the Lazo find within a wider pattern: it reports that roughly 20 Russian drones launched toward Ukraine have fallen in Moldova, and references a previous case on 22 January 2026 near Crocmaz, in the Ștefan Vodă district, where a drone was said to contain explosives.

The discovery fits a reported pattern of drones falling on Moldovan territory amid Russia's war against Ukraine, but the source does not confirm this particular drone's type or origin, and its examination was still pending. Moldova's Foreign Ministry described the find as a potential airspace violation and a possible threat to citizens, while Parliament President Igor Grosu, per Moldova 1, linked such incidents to Russia's "aggressive and expansionist" conduct. Russian involvement should therefore be treated as suspected rather than proven, particularly as Moscow's ambassador had previously demanded proof that such drones were Russian-made.