Ottawa, Canada - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Canada late Wednesday ahead of talks with leadership as he seeks to shore up ties with allies, according to Canadian media.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement that Zelensky's visit "will focus on shared priorities between Canada and Ukraine, including deepening defence, economic, and energy cooperation."

"It will also address the human cost of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and build on the strong people-to-people ties that connect our countries," the statement said, adding that Canada "remains steadfast in our commitment to support Ukraine's defence, recovery, and reconstruction."

Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska are set to attend events in Calgary, Toronto and North Bay, as well as a meeting with Cabinet members in Banff, Alberta. Their visit is expected to conclude on Friday.

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Zelensky's arrival in Canada came after a visit to Norway for the funeral of King Harald V and talks on air-defense support.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Wednesday that the plane carrying Zelensky was almost hit by a drone as it came to Oslo, a claim downplayed by Ukraine and Moldova.

Store told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK that Zelensky's plane was "almost hit by a drone when it was taking off from Moldova."

But a source in the Ukrainian presidency described the claim that Zelensky was at risk as "exaggerated."

"It was an alert in Moldova when a Russian (drone) entered Moldovan and Romanian airspace," the source told AFP.

In Chisinau, government spokesperson Dumitru Ciorici said Moldova closed its airspace on Tuesday afternoon just after 4:30 PM local time due to a Russian drone that entered from the direction of Ukraine.

"The airspace was closed to protect aircraft flying over Moldova at the time: three departures and four arrivals were delayed as a result," he added.

"After 1720, the authorities confirmed that the drone had come down and exploded... some 160 kilometres (100 miles) from Chisinau International Airport."

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"Flight restrictions were then lifted. For the same reason, the plane of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took off... later than scheduled."

Zelensky arrived in Oslo on Tuesday evening and held talks with Store, Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg, and Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide on Norwegian military aid, including air-defense support, and civilian assistance.

The Ukrainian leader joined a host of other foreign dignitaries the following day at the funeral of Norway's King Harald, who died on August 28 aged 89.