Moldova briefly closed its airspace on Tuesday after a hovering balloon was sighted near its border with Ukraine. The development came just a day after the country’s president Maida Sandu accused Russia of plotting a coup to overthrow his government.

According to the New York Times, the European country closed its airspace for three hours for security after a balloon-like Unidentified Flying Object(UFO) similar to a weather surveillance device was found hovering astride its border with Ukraine, where Russian has been carrying out offensive military attacks for more than a year now.

The closure of the airspace was deemed necessary after a Russian missile had flown past the former Soviet Republic into the neighbouring Ukraine. 

Moldova has been the most affected since the Russian invasion began last year, as the country faces constant missiles flying through its airspace from Russia into Ukraine.

Since the military offensive began in Ukraine, many of the bordering countries including Poland, Finland, Romania and some of the former member countries of the fallen Soviet Republic have heightened their security apparatus in preparation for a possible further Russian invasion into Eastern Europe. 

Experts from pro-Ukraine countries have floated the claims that the invasion of Ukraine is only the beginning of Vladimir Putin’s military incursion into Eastern Europe.