A drone “loaded” with approximately 100 kilograms of explosives was spotted on Friday, May 8, in Lefkada by local fishermen.
“When the fishermen found it, its engine was still running,” Giorgos Kyriakos, a professional diver who was at the scene where the drone was discovered, told fyi.news.
“At first, we hesitated to open it because it could have contained drugs or explosives. Eventually, one of the fishermen opened it, and we saw a metal box containing the explosives and three detonators.”
“Then the Coast Guard arrived, took it away, and bomb disposal experts deactivated it.”
On Saturday, during New Democracy’s pre-conference event in Thessaloniki, Defense Minister Nikos Dendias stated that the drone “was found outside Greek territorial waters.”
“When we heard that, we laughed. The drone was literally touching Lefkada,” Mr. Kyriakos said.
Officially, no government official has named the drone’s country of origin.
International and Greek media reports describe it as a “MAGURA V5,” a Ukrainian-made drone specifically designed for military purposes.
“We know what it is, and we know roughly what it contains,” Nikos Dendias said.
“We have nothing to envy. We are building the capabilities for our homeland to produce and equip its Navy with the most advanced drones and anti-drone systems currently available,” he added.
One scenario under consideration is that the drone may have been preparing to strike a vessel belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet.”*
Kyiv has acknowledged targeting Russian ships, and there have been two recorded attacks on such vessels by Ukrainian drones in the Black Sea.
* Tankers transporting Russian oil and natural gas while bypassing Western sanctions.
“When will the Greek people also be informed?” said Michalis Katrinis of PASOK, who is demanding that the Greek public learn “the drone’s origin, the purpose it served, and how it was able to move around Lefkada undisturbed.”
SYRIZA described the incident as “a serious issue of national security and government inadequacy,” while Communist Party of Greece is demanding answers about how the explosive-laden Ukrainian naval drone ended up in Lefkada.
