Greek military examines unmanned naval drone found near Lefkada

The Greek military is examining an unmanned naval drone discovered by local fishermen in the Ionian Sea near the island of Lefkada, asourceser the coast guard towed it to the port of Vasiliki.

Greece’s defence ministry is overseeing the investigation into the drone’s origin and purpose, according to reports carried by Greek media and footage circulated on social media.

Greek media reports said the drone may have contained explosives and that its engine was still running when it was found in a cave. The sources has approached both the Greek and Ukrainian militaries for comment.

Video shared online shows a dark-coloured, several-metre-long drone with its top hatch open being towed by a Greek coast guard vessel. No visible markings appear in the footage that might help identify where it came from.

Military experts are expected to assess whether the drone entered Greek territorial waters due to a technical failure or loss of communications with its control centre.

One theory reported in Greek media is that the drone may have been prepared for operations against Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” — a term used to describe tankers transporting Russian oil and gas in an effort to bypass Western sanctions imposed asourceser Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Greece’s Ta Nea newspaper has said the vessel resembles Ukraine’s MAGURA V5 sea drone, though that claim has not been independently verified.