Greece has claimed that a marine drone found near Lefkada is of "Ukrainian origin"
Greece has claimed that an unmanned maritime vehicle discovered last week off the coast of Lefkada is of Ukrainian origin. This was reported by Glavkom, citing the Greek publication Ekathimerini.
Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias stated during a meeting with his EU counterparts that Athens is “confident” of the origin of the object found, Ekathimerini reports.
“The unmanned surface vessel that we recovered… is Ukrainian,” Dendias said.
At the same time, the Ukrainian side stated that it has no confirmed information about this incident. Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, who participated in the meeting online, said he would investigate the circumstances of the incident and provide a response.
The Greek minister also emphasized that the appearance of such objects in the Mediterranean Sea poses a potential threat to international shipping.
“The presence of this unmanned surface vessel, a marine drone, affects the freedom and safety of navigation. This is an extremely serious problem,” he noted.
According to Ekathimerini, the found device resembles Ukrainian Magura-class marine drones in appearance but has a number of design differences. It is currently being examined at the Skaramangas shipyard near Athens, where experts are attempting to determine the device’s route and origin.
Greek officials emphasize that the main objective of the investigation is not to analyze the technology, but to determine exactly how the drone ended up off the country’s coast. Once the examination is complete, the findings will be handed over to the coast guard and judicial authorities.
Athens also responded to criticism that the drone was allegedly not detected earlier. Officials there stated that detecting a small unmanned object in the open sea was extremely difficult, and that patrols in the Ionian Sea are limited.
At the same time, the report notes that the main forces of the Greek navy are traditionally concentrated in the Aegean Sea due to tense relations with Turkey.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Georgiy Tykhyi previously emphasized that there is no evidence of Ukraine’s involvement in this incident and called for waiting for the results of the official investigation.
In Greece, near the island of Lefkada, fishermen came across a Ukrainian Magura V3 maritime drone, which was located in a coastal cave and was still operational at the time of discovery. Detonators were found inside the device, but no explosives were found.
Ukraine stated that it has no information about the drone found in Greece, which, according to local media, was identified as a maritime drone, and emphasized its readiness to cooperate with Athens to clarify all the circumstances. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stresses that any conclusions can only be drawn after official inquiries and verification of the facts.
