Greece is now in the final stages of preparing its formal diplomatic representations to Ukraine regarding the kamikaze drone found loaded with explosives on the island of Lefkada. The investigation report compiled by the Ministry of National Defense following a thorough technical examination of the Ukrainian unmanned surface vessel (USV) has been completed and is already on the Prime Minister’s desk.
According to information obtained by Ta Nea, the vessel is a MAMAI-type unmanned surface craft, a model that has been used in numerous attacks against Russian ships.
Findings That Overturn the Earlier Picture
The conclusions reached by the Hellenic National Defence General Staff (GEETHA) technical teams upend several of the assumptions that had been forming since the drone’s initial discovery. The floating bomb was not released near the Lefkada area from a mother vessel, as had previously been suspected. All evidence gathered by Greek experts through analysis of the drone’s GPS data indicates that it entered Greek territorial waters from a maritime area south of Italy, relatively close to Sicily. It had been positioned there either by a mother vessel or from a base in Libya that Ukrainian special forces use with Turkish tolerance, as part of the operational cooperation between the two countries.
The technical teams found that a malfunction in the drone’s communications and remote control system, most likely caused by water intrusion into the electronic unit, caused the operator to lose control of the vessel. Ocean currents then carried it to the coast of Lefkada.
This finding also prompts a reassessment of an earlier report published by Ta Nea following the drone’s discovery, which had suggested a possible link between its mission and a planned strike against one of the ships in a Russian convoy. That convoy had been detected by the Sentinel satellite on May 3, sailing near Malta and heading east. It consisted of the frigate Kasatonov, the supply vessel Pasin, the tanker Skobelev, and the cargo ship Sparta.
The report is expected to be forwarded to the Hellenic Coast Guard, which is responsible for policing Greek waters, so that the appropriate prosecutorial steps and official diplomatic representations to Kyiv can follow.
Defense Minister Nikos Dendias has stated that he will be waiting for an explanation from his Ukrainian counterpart, while Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, speaking at a conference organized by the Kiklos Ideon think tank, said the matter is far from closed, as it raises serious concerns about freedom of navigation, civilian safety, economic activity, and environmental protection. Greece has made clear to Ukraine that any military operations in the Mediterranean are unacceptable.
In any case, technical teams in Athens will continue to analyze and decode every detail of the kamikaze drone, as the Greek Armed Forces have shown considerable interest in this category of weapons system.
