Athens treats Ukrainian explosive drone incident as potential crime

The conclusion of Greece’s Ministry of National Defence regarding a Ukrainian unmanned surface vessel carrying explosives, discovered in a cave near the island of Lefkada in the Ionian Sea, will be forwarded to the public prosecutor as the case is being treated as a criminal offence.

Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias made the remarks during a speech at a forum hosted by the Oikonomikos Tahidromos portal.

The minister was asked about the ministry’s assessment of the drone, amid public uncertainty over how it entered Greek territorial waters. Dendias said he could not disclose information that had not been made public due to national security considerations.

“The Ministry of National Defence will, in the coming days, forward this conclusion to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, and this conclusion must then be passed on to the prosecutor’s office, because, as you understand, this constitutes a criminal offence. The presence of an explosive device in a maritime area creates an obvious danger to human life; this is a criminal offence under the Greek penal code, and I assume under the penal codes of all civilized states. Therefore, the issue remains ongoing,” Dendias noted.

Dendias said he “appreciates the apologies of Ukraine and the delayed honesty of the Ukrainian side in accepting responsibility” for the unmanned vessel found off the coast of Lefkada, while stressing that the matter’s political and legal dimensions must be treated separately.

“There is, apparently, a question of who should bear responsibility for this incident, which endangered lives in Greece,” he said.

He added that the issue could not be resolved solely on a political level.

“The criminal aspect does not depend on me or anyone else; it depends on the competent prosecutor, who will determine whether a criminal offence has taken place. In my humble opinion, a criminal offence has occurred, and he must take the appropriate measures. If the Greek judicial authorities conclude that no criminal offence has taken place, that is their decision, but it would surprise me,” Dendias emphasized.

By Vafa Guliyeva