Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis briefed the EU Council of Foreign Ministers regarding the discovery of the naval drone in Lefkada, emphasizing that Greece will not allow the Mediterranean to become a theater of war operations.
Drone in Lefkada: Concern in Brussels and waiting for investigation results
Diplomatic sources told parapolitika.gr that “European officials expressed their concern and support for Greece and requested to be informed about the investigation results when completed.” The investigation findings will determine how Greece proceeds from here. Giorgos Gerapetritis particularly emphasized to his counterparts, as mentioned earlier, that Athens will not allow the war to spread to Greek territory.
The incident represents a particularly serious development being intensively investigated by the General Staff. As already known, the vessel carried three electric detonators and a satellite navigation antenna, highlighting a massive risk to civilian safety and freedom of navigation. The government intends to take necessary diplomatic steps once investigation evidence confirms the drone’s origin and operator.
Scenarios being examined by authorities – Even provocation
Authoritative sources speaking to parapolitika.gr emphasized that the incident is considered particularly serious, as it involves violation of Greek territorial waters, and estimated that until the Ministry of National Defense announcement is issued – which has undertaken the case investigation – no one can determine with certainty whether this is “a simple or complex case.” In fact, the same sources did not rule out it being “provocation,” as they characteristically said, noting that “military bases exist not only south of Greece, but also north with influence from third countries,” leaving all scenarios open.
According to the same sources, Greece has already requested explanations from Ukraine through diplomatic channels, which apparently have not yet been provided. However, they express confidence that the Ukrainians will not hide from an allied country what really happened. Meanwhile, expert specialists are working to verify all information by analyzing the drone, currently located at the Skaramanga naval base, examining it, as they characteristically say, “thoroughly.”
Spyros Belegritis to parapolitika.gr: How the Ukrainian drone operates
Retired Lieutenant General Spyros Belegritis analyzes for parapolitika.gr how this specific drone operates. As he maintains, Ukraine’s armed forces use it to strike Russian navy ships or merchant vessels of the “shadow fleet” and operate mainly in the Black Sea, at Crimean Peninsula ports. These unmanned drones carry one to two Starlink-type satellite antennas. They are white large square objects. They are usually filled with explosives, with the detonation mechanism located at the bow. The operator controls it remotely via screen through satellite systems.
Regarding this specific drone, what has been confirmed so far is that all these systems were operational, but there is no explanation for how the operator lost control. As Mr. Belegritis considers probable, “either there was some malfunction in this particular vessel’s navigation systems or there was operator error.”
According to the retired Lieutenant General, the drone’s danger to fishermen was not as great as it appeared, as he attributes minimal explosion probability. As he says, the drone explodes upon impact or when fired by the operator. Information so far about the time it remained at the location where it was found is minimal, while the place of origin has not been confirmed. Mr. Belegritis questions that the drone came from a secret Ukrainian base in Libya, as recorded in most scenarios. He wonders “why the Tripoli government would have such a secret base on its territory, since it doesn’t cooperate with Ukraine. Nor would Turkey, which has troops in Libya, have reason to maintain such a base. It’s risky to say it was in Libya. It could have been in Albania, Italy, France or Algeria.”
Expected Ministry of Defense findings and diplomatic steps
All possibilities remain open. In a few days, the Ministry of National Defense is expected to release the investigation results, so that diplomatic steps can immediately be issued to the responsible country, requesting that Greece’s jurisdictional space not be used for conducting offensive actions.
