Drone near Lefkada: the version of the failure does not remove questions for Kyiv

Reuters reported a new version of the Greek investigation into a maritime drone found off Lefkada: a device that Greece considers Ukrainian, could have gone astray due to a technical malfunction and, possibly, didn’t go very far.

Key Findings

• Reuters with reference to Greek sources, he writes that the sea drone has Lefkadaprobably lost course due to a technical problem.
• Greek military and intelligence agencies have dismantled the device and are studying its design, characteristics and metadata.
• Preliminary evidence that the drone has not traveled a long distance makes it less likely to launch from Libyabut does not answer the main question: where it was launched from.
• Kyiv and manufacturer UFORCE deny the connection between the found device and the ruler Magurawhereas Athens continue to demand explanations.
• For Greece the key problem remains the same: a military naval drone with explosives ended up in an area of ​​civilian shipping and, in fact, on Greek territory.

The story of the naval drone Lefkada got a new twist. According to ReutersGreek investigators believe a military maritime drone found off a Greek island may have go off course due to a technical problem. Agency sources also indicate that the device may not have traveled a significant distance before being detected.

We are talking about the same drone with explosives that was found by fishermen near Lefkada at the beginning of May. Greece considers the apparatus Ukrainian, whereas Kyiv officially denies this. It was this conflict of versions that became the cause of diplomatic tension between Athens And Kyiv.

According to information ReutersGreek intelligence and military structures have dismantled the device and are conducting its technical analysis. Investigators are examining the drone’s design, characteristics and metadata to determine what mission it was intended to perform, whether it was launched from a carrier vessel or from shore, and where the launch point might have been.

Reuters version: technical glitch and disorientation

One of the sources Reuters security official said the drone likely missed its target after becoming disorientated due to a technical fault. According to preliminary findings, the device could not have covered a long distance, which makes the version of the launch from Libya across the Mediterranean Sea.

At the same time, another agency source noted that fuel level remains an important factor in assessing the route. Details about the fuel supply and technical condition of the device are not officially disclosed. According to Reutersthe technical analysis is almost complete, but some of the encrypted data remains to be decrypted.

In other words, the version “the drone just drifted for a long time across half the Mediterranean” is looking less and less convincing. If the device really has not traveled a long distance, a new and even more inconvenient question arises: where exactly was it launched and who controlled its route. This is where the diplomatic arithmetic gets nasty, because explosives off a Greek island are not a lost suitcase at the airport.

What is known about the found device?

Initially, Greek and international sources indicated that the one found in Lefkada the marine drone visually resembles Ukrainian devices of the family Magura. However, later the wording became more careful: Reuters even clarified his earlier material, removing a specific model and adding a Ukrainian denial that the device belongs to Magura.

Ukrainian company UFORCErelated to the production of marine unmanned systems Magurastated that found at Lefkada The device is only superficially similar to its products, but does not correspond to the company’s models. The Ukrainian side also claimed that the versions V3 did not exist in her line.

This detail does not remove the questions, but only makes the investigation more difficult. If the device is not serial Magurathen the investigation will have to establish whether it was a modified drone, a copy, an experimental version or a system of another origin. For Athens The main question remains the same: how did an armed maritime drone end up in a civilian shipping area and who is responsible for this risk.

Dendias: this is a threat to shipping safety

Minister of National Defense Greece Nikos Dendias previously stated directly that Athens They consider the found device to be Ukrainian and expect Kyiv explanations. According to him, the incident poses an extremely serious problem, since the drone was carrying explosives and posed a threat to the safety of navigation.

“This problem is very serious. This boat contained explosives, which threatened the safety of navigation. I don’t even want to think about what it would mean for a passenger ship or any other ship if it collided with this drone.”– stated Nikos Dendias.

This quote is important because it moves the story from the plane of “whose drone is this” to the plane of safety Greece. Even if the version of a technical malfunction is confirmed, the military device with explosives still ended up in an area where fishing boats, tourist yachts, merchant ships and passenger routes operate.

What the Athens News previously wrote

As previously written “Athens News”the story began with the fact that fishermen Lefkada discovered a naval drone visually similar to the Ukrainian one MAGURA V5. The device was found in the area of ​​a sea cave, after which it was towed to the port Vasiliki and handed over to the Greek authorities. Read more about this in the material “Greek fishermen “caught” a MAGURA V5 marine drone off the coast of Lefkada”.

Later “Athens News” reported that Greece is preparing diplomatic steps after the discovery of a drone with explosives. Then the Minister of Foreign Affairs Georgios Gerapetritis stated that we were talking about a particularly serious development of events, and after completing the investigation Athens will take the necessary diplomatic actions. See material “Greece is preparing a demarche to Ukraine because of MAGURA near Lefkada”.

A separate question concerned the possible digital footprint of the device. As they wrote “Athens News”if the found drone actually had a terminal installed Starlinkhe could leave technical data that would help establish the route, connection time, equipment binding and possible operator. More details in the article “A Ukrainian drone near Lefkada left a digital trace via Starlink: why is it not being looked for?”.

Also “Athens News” wrote about the statement Nikos Dendiaswhich recognized the drone as Ukrainian and raised the issue of shipping safety. See material “Dendias recognized the drone as Ukrainian. Lefkada and “neutral waters”.

Then came the Ukrainian denial. Kyiv and company UFORCE publicly stated that what was found Lefkada The device allegedly does not belong to their line. About this “Athens News” wrote in the material “Drone near Lefkada: Kyiv denies, Athens is waiting for answers”.

Finally, the Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias publicly stated that Greece is still waiting for an explanation from Ukraine. He called the situation extremely serious because the drone was carrying explosives and posed a threat to the freedom and safety of navigation. For more information, see the article “Dendias demands an explanation from Kyiv regarding the drone near Lefkada”.

Why does the crash version not close the issue?

At first glance, the version Reuters about a technical malfunction may seem like an attempt to reduce political tension. If the drone becomes disorientated, fails to reach its target, and accidentally ends up Lefkadathen the incident can be presented as a dangerous, but not intentional episode.

However for Greece this does not remove the main question. Even if the device really went off course, it was still military naval drone with explosiveswho find themselves in an area where civilian ships, fishing boats, tourist yachts and ferries pass through. A technical fault explains the failure, but does not explain liability.

If the drone really did not travel a long distance, as sources claim Reutersthen an even more inconvenient question arises: where exactly was it launched from. Launch version from Libya becomes weaker, but this does not mean that the route is clear. On the contrary, the range of possible scenarios is narrowing and becoming more politically sensitive.

Could the drone be connected to strikes on the Russian “shadow fleet”

Reuters reminds that over the past year Ukraine attacked tankers in Black Sea and beyond, including Mediterranean Sea. Kyiv associates such goals with the Russian so-called “shadow fleet”which, according to the Ukrainian version, helps Moscow circumvent sanctions and export oil to finance the war.

That is why one of the early versions around the drone Lefkada associated its appearance with a possible operation against Russian naval targets or ships associated with the transportation of Russian oil. But new information Reuters makes this picture more complicated: if the device did not travel a long distance, the investigation must understand where exactly it could have been launched and what route it should have taken.

In any case, it’s not just about Lefkada. The incident shows that the drone war is gradually spreading beyond the Black Sea and creating risks in Mediterranean. For Greecea country with a huge maritime area, islands, shipping and tourism, this is not someone else’s war somewhere far away. This is already a question of the safety of our own waters and ports.

Athens notified EU and are waiting for the investigation to be completed

According to Reuters, Greece already notified European Union about the incident. Minister of Foreign Affairs Georgios Gerapetritis previously stated that Athens are prepared to file a formal complaint once the investigation is completed.

This is an important detail. Greece is in no hurry to take final diplomatic actions, awaiting a technical conclusion. But the very formulation of the issue has already reached the European level. And if the investigation confirms the Ukrainian origin and establishes the route of the device, Kyiv It will be difficult to limit ourselves to the formula “this is not ours.”

It is especially inconvenient that the Ukrainian side denies the ownership of the drone, while the Greek Minister of Defense publicly insists on the opposite. In such cases, a diplomatic game of “we are checking”, “we are not confirming”, “we are ready to cooperate”, “we are waiting for data” usually begins. Humanity invented this vocabulary specifically for situations where everyone understands everything, but no one wants to be the first to say it out loud.

Editorial comment

Version Reuters a technical malfunction seems convenient for diplomatic firefighting, but does not solve the main problem. A military naval drone with explosives ended up off a Greek island, in an area of ​​civilian shipping. Even if it went off course, someone launched it, someone planned the route, someone was responsible for communications, navigation and combat load.

For Greece The question now is not only whether it is a Ukrainian drone or not. The question is broader: who guarantees that such devices will not end up next to a ferry, fishing boat or tourist yacht tomorrow? If the drone war comes to the Mediterranean, Athens have the right to demand not diplomatic obscurities, but clear technical and political answers.

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