Greece issues protest note to Ukraine over naval drone discovered near Lefkada island

Athens criticized Ukraine’s actions and said that the detected naval drone threatened maritime navigation.

This was stated by the spokeswoman of the Greek Foreign Ministry, Lana Zohiou, during a briefing, writes Kathimerini.

The note of protest states that the naval drone detected in Greek territorial waters “seriously threatened maritime navigation and could have caused casualties among civilians,” and could also have caused damage to the environment.

“The transfer of military operations to the Mediterranean, a long distance from the actual front of the war, endangers our national security, and our national economy will suffer a decisive blow. Ukraine’s right to self-defense cannot justify such actions,” the spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry noted.

She added that Greece does not agree with the “illegal presence” of the drone in its waters and calls on Ukraine “to refrain from similar actions in the future and from unjustified transfer of military operations to the Mediterranean Sea.”

As a reminder, the drone was discovered by Greek fishermen off the western coast of Lefkada, after which it was handed over to the authorities. Earlier, a number of media outlets suggested that it could be a Ukrainian Magura sea drone. At the same time, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated that they had no confirmation of the device’s connection with Ukrainian operators.

The Uforce company, which deals with defense technologies, also clarified that the device found near Lefkada is not a Magura drone.