If Franco-Ukrainian relations had already been strained by the various disagreements regarding the joint maritime drone program, today’s statement has reached a new low. It all started in the week of May 4–10, 2026, when a fisherman sailing along the coast of Lefkada, a popular island in the Ionian Sea, discovered a maritime drone inside a cave, still with its engines running.
Examination of the drone at a naval base near Athens confirmed that it was the model known as “Cossack Mamai,” named in honor of a Ukrainian national hero. Furthermore, it appeared to be in mission configuration, ruling out the hypothesis of a malfunction that led the drone to become lost and then washed ashore. According to several sources, this drone is just one of many such devices currently flying over the eastern Mediterranean.
A Ghost Hunt That Disturbs Athens More and More
If Kyiv is putting so much effort into this region, it is to counter the “shadow fleet”: a group of ships that circumvent Western sanctions to transport goods from Moscow, providing crucial currency for the country’s war effort. The Ukrainian government had warned its Greek counterpart that any vessel identified as part of this fleet would be a priority target. Furthermore, part of this fleet is said to consist of Greek ships: last March, one of them was hit by a drone in the port of Novorossiysk while loading its Russian cargo.
Currently, Kyiv has stated that they have no information about the drone. “There is no evidence that it belongs to Ukrainian operators. We are open to cooperation with the Greek side to clarify the circumstances of the incident if relevant requests exist from them,” said Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs last Tuesday.
A Report That Prompted Authorities to React
A preliminary document on the inspection of the vehicle by the Greek Armed Forces General Staff was submitted to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who has yet to decide on the next steps. The two main scenarios being considered are that the drone was either dropped in the area by a commercial ship or launched from a Ukrainian base in Misrata, western Libya. The possibility of one of these drones striking an oil tanker or even a passenger ship by mistake is a major concern for Athens, fearing both a human and ecological disaster (the oil spill linked to the sinking of the Agia Zoni II in 2017 remains fresh in memory).
A message will be sent to Kyiv requesting the removal of all drones from the country’s coasts. However, this warning does not indicate a change in policy according to diplomatic sources: faced with Turkey’s own territorial claims in the Aegean Sea, Athens remains opposed under all circumstances to any forced border changes. A direct contact between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also not ruled out.
