Greece's examines mystery naval drone found in Ionian Sea

Greek media say the drone, which reportedly had explosives, could be either Ukrainian or linked to the Russia-Ukraine war. Greece's military examines mystery naval drone found in Ionian Sea Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Footage has emerged showing the discovered naval drone (left) being towered by a Greek coastguard boat to the port of Vasiliki A screenshot showing the discovered naval drone (left) is being towered by a Greek coastguard boat to the port of Vasiliki on the island of Lefkada in the Ionian Sea Greece's examines mystery naval drone found in Ionian Sea The Greek military is examining a mysterious unmanned naval drone spotted in the Ionian Sea by local fishermen. They found the vessel in a cave near the island of Lefkada on Thursday and alerted the coast guard, which then towed it to the nearby port of Vasiliki. The Greek defence ministry is now overseeing the investigation. Reports in Greek media say the drone carried explosives and its engine was still running when it was discovered. The reports also suggest vessel could be either Ukrainian-made or linked to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The BBC has approached both Greece's and Ukraine's military for official comment. Footage on social media has emerged showing a Greek coast guard boat towing the several metre-long drone to the port. The dark-coloured drone has its top hatch open. No visible markings can be seen in the video that might help identify the origin of the vessel. Greek military experts will look at establishing the drone's possible purpose and whether it ended up in Greek territorial waters owing to a technical failure, or the loss of communication with its control centre. One reported version is that the drone could have been prepared against Russia's "shadow fleet" - a term that refers to hundreds of tankers transporting Moscow's oil and gas to bypass Western sanctions imposed after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Greece's Ta Nea newspaper says the vessel resembles Ukraine's MAGURA V5 drone, that has been used effectively a number of times. This claim has not been independently verified. Ukrainian sea drones have revolutionised naval warfare since Moscow's invasion, relentlessly hunting down Russian warships and tankers in the open sea and even at naval bases. In November 2025, Ukraine claimed a naval drone attack against two sanctioned Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea. Ukraine claimed a naval drone attack against two sanctioned Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea. Footage verified by the BBC showed waterborne drones speeding through the waves into the vessels, before detonating into a ball of flame, sending black smoke into the air. In March, Moscow accused Ukraine of hitting a sanctioned Russian tanker loaded with liquefied natural gas tanker with "uncrewed sea drones" in the Mediterranean Sea between Libya and Malta. The Arctic Metagaz tanker was badly damaged and later seen drifting out of control with no crew onboard. The Arctic Metagaz tanker was badly damaged and later seen drifting out of control Ukraine's military has not commented on reports that it was responsible for that attack, thousands of miles from Ukraine's coast. Ukraine President Zelensky in front of robots and drones Robot wars - what an operation in Ukraine tells us about the battlefield of the near future A screengrab from a video taken from a sea drone shows the silhouette of Olenegorsky Gornyak ship near the port of Novorossiysk The Ukrainian sea drones hunting Russian warships Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil blamed the US president's "irresponsible war in Iran" for harming the Germany economy. The case first emerged last year, involving allegations of torture, rape and abuse of power. The academic is accused of dreaming up the prize he went on to win and has been suspended from his university. The two sides report responding to hundreds of drone attacks, just hours into a truce to cover celebrations of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany. An estimated 11,000 North Korean soldiers were sent to fight in Russia's war against Ukraine. For the first time in nearly two decades, there will be no military hardware, just soldiers during Saturday's parade in Moscow. The unmanned aircraft can drop off 100 parcels a day within a 12km radius of Amazon's hub. The tech giant says it hopes to slowly expand the service as the demand for ultra-fast deliveries grows.