The discovery of an armed Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) (drone) in Greek territorial waters near Lefkada is putting Greece-Ukraine relations to the test, as it has triggered a serious diplomatic crisis.
Athens’ stern diplomatic protests to Kiev over Lefkada drone
After completing the official investigation, Athens proceeded with a series of stern diplomatic protests, expressing its strong displeasure over the violation of national sovereignty. On May 28 and 29, the Greek Foreign Ministry filed official protests, both in writing and verbally, with the Ukrainian embassy in Athens and the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry in Kiev. The Greek side emphasized that the presence of the armed vessel posed a serious threat to maritime traffic and could have led to civilian casualties or incalculable environmental disaster.
Expert tells parapolitika.gr: “Drones have disrupted the entire continent”
International relations expert Thrasyvulos Eftychidis, speaking to parapolitika.gr, highlights the dimensions that drone use has taken in the Russia-Ukraine war. “The drone issue has recently disrupted, as we can see, the entire continent. We had Ukrainian drone strikes in the Baltic States, which obviously deviated from their course and hit even a refinery in Latvia, something that led to the fall of the government there. We had the Russian drone strike in Galați, Romania, which is a border area with Ukraine, very close to the port of Reni. All of this shows exactly the great dangers that exist for the crisis to spread.”
“War spillover into the Mediterranean poses serious risks”
In this direction, to prevent war spillover into the Mediterranean, Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis escalated his actions by briefing the EU High Representative and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, while raising the issue directly with his Ukrainian counterpart during the Informal Meeting in Limassol. In these contacts, Athens clarified its position that Ukraine’s right to self-defense does not legitimize such actions within Greek waters. At the same time, it was emphasized that transferring military operations to the Mediterranean, at a tremendous distance from the actual front, constitutes a blow to the country’s national security and economy. As the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lana Zochios characteristically stated on Wednesday, “a war does not end through its spread.”
Expert: “Particularly serious issues that must be addressed collectively by the EU”
International relations expert Thrasyvulos Eftychidis’ assessment through parapolitika.gr shows real concern about the possibility of war spillover through drone use. As he says, “they could create enormous problems for our country. Whether Mr. Gerapetritis can prevent this is something that is naturally being examined, because this wasn’t the first strike we had, we had two others, to which we didn’t react at all, and I’m referring to the strikes on Russian tankers south of Crete. There, we weren’t concerned… Fortunately they were empty, because imagine an oil spill south of Crete, where no one could guarantee its course. Therefore, these are particularly serious issues that should be addressed collectively by the European Union, which seems to have encouraged such strikes in the recent period, so they stop at least in areas where there is immediate danger of at least an ecological disaster and at most loss of human lives. The diplomatic protest moves are therefore correct. We would expect greater sensitivity regarding the response.”
This serious incident tests Athens-Kiev relations for the first time since the war began. According to Eftychidis, “our country has chosen to support Ukraine. It has changed, it has differentiated its stance in the ‘post-Biden’ period, with President Trump, but in any case nothing seems to change regarding relations with Ukraine and the assistance we continue to provide to that country.”
What Athens expects from Kiev now
Despite the tension, Greece emphasizes that it continues to support efforts for a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine. However, it signals in all directions that respect for International Law and national sovereignty is non-negotiable. Athens now awaits an official response from Kiev, which will determine the future of diplomatic cooperation between the two countries.
