Two people were killed and several injured when a drone strike hit a checkpoint on Moldova’s western frontier with Ukraine on Tuesday, officials said.

The attack, which occurred near the town of Criva in the Sîngerei district, targeted a Moldovan border guard post that monitors traffic between the two countries.

"We lost two of our colleagues in a single explosion," a senior officer of the Moldovan Border Guard Service told reporters, refusing to name the victims.

Moldovan authorities confirmed the deaths and said the injured were taken to a nearby hospital in Bălţi. The victims were identified as a 34‑year‑old male guard and a 27‑year‑old female civilian who was assisting with checkpoint duties.

Drone warfare spills beyond the front line

The strike is the latest incident in a pattern of cross‑border drone activity that has increasingly drawn neighbouring states into the Russia‑Ukraine conflict. Over the past week, both Kyiv and Moscow have reported multiple drone incursions into each other's airspace, with at least five fatalities in Ukraine and four in Russia, according to local officials.

Analysts say the use of loitering munitions – often called “kamikaze” drones – has become a low‑cost method for both sides to target logistical hubs and border installations without committing ground forces.

Regional security concerns rise

Moldova, a neutral country that signed a security pact with NATO in 2024, has repeatedly warned that its territory could become a battlefield spill‑over. The government lodged a protest with the United Nations on Monday, urging both belligerents to respect its sovereignty.

Russia’s foreign ministry dismissed the complaint, accusing Ukraine of “using Moldovan soil as a launchpad for attacks against Russian territory.” Kyiv’s defence ministry, meanwhile, blamed “Russian‑backed militias operating from across the border” for the incident.

Human cost and humanitarian response

Humanitarian groups operating in the region, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, have called for an urgent review of the safety of border personnel. "Every new strike deepens the trauma for families and communities on both sides of the line," said a spokesperson for the ICRC, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The two dead add to a growing tally of civilian casualties linked to the drone campaign, which has already claimed at least nine lives across the conflict zone since the start of the year.

As both sides prepare for a possible escalation in the coming weeks, Moldova’s president has ordered a review of border‑security protocols and hinted at seeking additional NATO support.

Security experts warn that further spill‑over could strain the fragile stability of the region, already challenged by Moldova’s unresolved Transnistria dispute and the presence of Russian troops in the breakaway region.

For now, the injured remain in hospital, and the border post is under investigation by Moldovan authorities, who say they will share findings with international partners.