Greece files diplomatic protest with Ukraine over drone found at sea
A Magura V3 drone (illustrative photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Greece has formally lodged a diplomatic protest with Ukraine over a naval drone found by fishermen near the island of Lefkada, Greek Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lana Zochiou told Kathimerini.
What Greece wrote in the diplomatic protest
In the diplomatic protest, Athens set out its position. The main points were:
"The unmanned surface vessel discovered in Greek territorial waters posed a serious threat to maritime navigation and could have caused casualties among civilians. It could also have caused incalculable damage to the environment."
"The transfer of military operations to the Mediterranean Sea, far from the actual front line of the war, threatens our national security, while our national economy would suffer a decisive blow."
"Ukraine's right to self-defense cannot justify such actions."
RBC-Ukraine requested comment from Ukraine's Foreign Ministry but had not received a response at the time of publication.
What Athens is demanding
Greece expressed its "strong disagreement" with the appearance of the drone in its territorial waters. Athens is demanding that Kyiv refrain from similar actions in the future and remove all remaining drones of this type from the Mediterranean Sea.
After the drone was discovered, Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias called the incident an "extremely serious issue" and said the device threatened the freedom and safety of navigation in the Mediterranean. Initially, Ukraine said it had no information regarding the ownership of the discovered drone.
The manufacturer of Magura drones, Uforce, denied any connection to the discovery. According to the company, the design and characteristics of the device do not match its products, and a Magura V3 model does not exist at all.
Athens later increased pressure, with Dendias publicly demanding an apology from Ukraine and guarantees that a similar incident would not happen again in the region.
