Greece protests to Ukraine over maritime drone off Lefkada

In the protest notes, Greece stressed that the presence of the armed unmanned vessel seriously endangered navigation, potentially putting civilian lives and the environment at risk. It also underlined that the transfer of military operations to the Mediterranean harms national security and the economy. Athens asked Ukraine to avoid similar actions in the future, noting that the right to self-defence does not justify such actions.

Greece filed the official protest démarches with Ukraine over the maritime drone spotted by fishermen off Lefkada on 7 May.

The two démarches were submitted in Kyiv on 28 and 29 May, as announced by Foreign Ministry press spokesperson Lana Zohiou during the regular briefing of diplomatic correspondents.

According to Zohiou, the Greek ambassador in Kyiv delivered the relevant démarche to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, formally setting out Greece’s position on the incident.

As reported by OPEN’s midday news bulletin, Athens will consider its next steps after the official response expected from Kyiv.

The Greek démarche states, among other things, that the drone detected in Greek territorial waters seriously endangered maritime traffic and could have caused the loss of innocent civilian lives and incalculable environmental damage.

At the same time, it stresses that, by transferring military operations to the Mediterranean, far from the actual front of the war, Greece’s national security is put at risk and the national economy suffers a decisive blow.

‘Ukraine’s right to self-defence cannot justify such actions,’ it underlines, among other points.

‘Greece, expressing its strong protest over the illegal presence of the armed unmanned surface vessel in Greek territorial waters, calls on Ukraine to refrain from similar actions in the future and from the unjustified transfer of military operations to the Mediterranean.’