Greece Demands Answers from Kyiv After Ukrainian Naval Drone Found Near Lefkada

Greece is acrophobic that the Russia-Ukraine was whitethorn spill implicit successful the Mediterranean. Public Video Screenshot

Greece intensified its diplomatic unit connected Ukraine this Wednesday pursuing the find of a suspected Ukrainian kamikaze drone disconnected the seashore of Lefkada past week. Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis issued a stern warning, asserting that Greece volition not tolerate the translation of the Mediterranean into a “theater of subject operations.”

Speaking successful Athens alongside Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić-Radman, Gerapetritis emphasized Greece’s committedness to ensuring the Mediterranean remains a “sea of peace.” He characterized the incidental arsenic a grounds of a destabilizing trend, noting that the European Union faces unprecedented information threats aft 4 years of determination conflict. “The top challenge,” Gerapetritis noted, “is preventing the dispersed of the wars troubling our neighborhood.”

Is the Russia-Ukraine warfare spilling to the Med?

The find of the explosive-laden vas connected the Ionian land has alarmed Greek officials, who presumption it arsenic grounds that the risks of the Russia-Ukraine war are spilling acold beyond the Black Sea. Athens maintains that the drone was apt deployed successful Greek territorial waters successful a botched effort to onslaught a Russian vas transiting the Mediterranean.

While the Hellenic National Defense General Staff conducts a forensic investigation astatine the Skaramagas naval facilities, preliminary findings person identified the trade arsenic a “Mamai-type” kamikaze drone—a exemplary often utilized by Ukrainian forces. Specialists from the Underwater Demolition Command person already neutralized the device’s explosives and are presently extracting ngo information to find its motorboat point.

Diplomatic friction and Kyiv’s silence

The incidental has sparked a uncommon diplomatic rift betwixt Athens and Kyiv. Despite nationalist inquiries from Defense Minister Nikos Dendias and authorities spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis, Ukrainian officials person remained tight-lipped:

Denials: Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi stated Kyiv has nary grounds of the vessel.

Silence astatine the EU Level: During a high-level EU defence videoconference connected Tuesday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov declined to remark erstwhile specifically questioned by his Greek counterpart.

Athens has briefed its NATO and EU allies connected the situation, highlighting the sedate dangers of the struggle drifting into the Aegean oregon Mediterranean seas. Beyond the contiguous information threat, Greek authorities are peculiarly wary of the economical and biology fallout that an accidental oregon intentional onslaught adjacent its coastline could trigger, particularly regarding the precocious measurement of commercialized tanker postulation successful the region.

Greece continues to question a accelerated decision to the method enquiry arsenic it weighs its adjacent diplomatic steps toward Kyiv.