Greece is demanding an apology from Ukraine over a maritime drone found off its coast, which is believed to be Ukrainian.
CNN Greece reported on this.
Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias stated that the surface unmanned vehicle posed a threat to shipping and could have resulted in civilian casualties.
“It [Ukraine – ed.] must offer us its deepest apologies. And in addition to an apology, it must provide us with absolute guarantees that this will not happen again in this region,” Dendias emphasized.
According to him, Greece has “no doubt” that this is a Ukrainian maritime drone. He also stated that the Greek side knows the type of drone, where it was manufactured, and what it was doing.
The media notes that Athens is “seriously concerned” about the incident, as the Greek government believes that “a serious threat to the safety of navigation” has arisen in the Mediterranean Sea.
Greek Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lana Zohiou called this case “a particularly serious incident.” Athens is currently awaiting the results of an investigation by the General Staff of the Armed Forces before taking official action.
“After receiving the official conclusion from the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will take the necessary measures and official steps at the bilateral and international levels,” Zohiou emphasized.
At the same time, this issue has already been discussed during a conversation between the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs and his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Sybiha.
On May 7, Greek fishermen found a marine drone near the southern part of the island of Lefkada in the Ionian Sea.
The country’s official authorities identified it as a Ukrainian Magura V3 marine drone. Subsequently, the manufacturer of these drones—UFORCE—informed Militarnyi that the surface vehicle found was not a Ukrainian Magura drone.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine also did not confirm the marine drone’s Ukrainian origin. Ministry spokesperson Heorhiy Tykhyi stated that Ukraine is open to cooperating with the Greek side to clarify the circumstances of the incident, should it receive relevant requests.
