Greece confronts Ukraine over explosive sea drone found off Lefkada

Greece has lodged a formal diplomatic protest with Ukraine after a sea drone carrying explosives was discovered off the coast of Lefkada, with Greek authorities concluding the system was Ukrainian in origin.

Greek Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lana Zohiou confirmed the protest, according to Greek media. The move follows an assessment by the General Staff of National Defence, which determined that the drone “acted on its behalf”.

Foreign Minister Georgios Gerapetritis raised the issue with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and separately informed his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha during the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Limassol on May 27.

According to Greek findings, the unmanned vessel was “part of a broader operation in which other similar systems were also expected to participate in order to strike vessels serving Russian interests”.

Athens has told Kyiv that it is aware of the alleged plan and stressed that its priority is to secure recognition of the incident as a mistake and ensure the withdrawal of any remaining combat drones from the Mediterranean.

The device was reportedly discovered by fishermen near Lefkada after suffering what authorities believe was a remote-control malfunction. Greek media identified it as a “Kozak Mamai” model sea drone carrying approximately 100 kilograms of explosives.

Officials suspect the intended target was a vessel linked to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” operating in the Mediterranean, raising concerns in Athens over the potential spillover of the Ukraine-related conflict into EU territorial waters.

By Tamilla Hasanova