Greece fears war is spilling into Mediterranean as Ukraine hunts shadow fleet tankers helping Russia export its oil.
By Nektaria Stamouli and Veronika Melkozerova
May 12, 2026
Greece is protesting over an unexploded Ukrainian naval drone found in its waters, fearing the war could be spilling over to the Mediterranean as Kyiv’s forces hunt the opaquely-owned “shadow fleet” carrying Russian oil.
A Magura-type naval drone, still carrying explosives and bearing indications it was used in an attempted strike, was spotted last week by a fisherman near the western island of Lefkada, a popular tourist destination. It was trapped inside a cave with its engines still running.
Greece’s Defense Minister Nikos Dendias confirmed on Tuesday the drone was of Ukrainian origin and raised the issue during the EU defense council in Brussels, calling it “an extremely serious incident.”
Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis had also complained about the drone in a meeting with EU counterparts during the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday, saying Athens would respond with diplomatic protests.
Athens “will not allow war operations to develop in the wider Mediterranean region and especially toward Greece,” he said.
The Greek armed forces are supervising the investigation and are preparing a report.
The two main scenarios under investigation are that either the drone was dropped into the area by a commercial ship, or that it was launched from a Ukrainian base in Misrata, western Libya, according to Greek officials.
This is not the first time Athens has been affected by the Ukrainians’ push to choke off President Vladimir Putin’s oil income. Last March, a ship owned by a Greek company was struck by a Ukrainian drone off the coast of Novorossiysk, where it was loading Russian oil.
“It is assumed that this strike [….] is perhaps related to the decisions that were made to partially allow Russian oil to be transported for a month,” Greek Shipping Minister Vassilias Kikilas said in March, calling it “unacceptable and very dangerous” to target vessels sailing under the Greek flag or carrying Greek crews
Kyiv is pressing to slash Russia’s oil income, making the tankers that help Moscow a prime target.
In this case, Kyiv said it had no information on the drone. “There is no evidence that it belongs to Ukrainian operators of maritime drones. We are open to cooperation with the Greek side to clarify the circumstances of the incident, if there are relevant requests from them,” Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson of the Ukrainian foreign ministry, told reporters on Tuesday.
Kyiv has, however, repeatedly complained that Greece’s giant tanker fleet is helping prop up Russia. At the beginning of the war, the then-Ukrainian ambassador to Athens, Serhiy Shutenko, said that “the money of certain shipping companies is stained with blood.”
On the other hand, the incident could now dent the conservative New Democracy government’s public image as Athens has gone a long way in offering support to Ukraine over the past five years, reversing traditionally close ties with Russia.
The government is now facing criticism from opposition parties across the political spectrum, which note that Greece seems to be completely unprotected, with inadequate monitoring of its territorial waters.
Kyriakos Velopoulos, leader of the ultranationalist Greek Solution party, which is considered to be close to Russia, said: “[President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy was never a friend of Greece, he has always been its enemy.”
He did, however, see a silver lining, noting that his party “would take the drone, reverse-engineer it, and mass-produce these types of drones.”
Distrust between Greece and Ukraine is not new. Some EU countries are pressing Athens to supply fighter jets to Ukraine, but Athens is reluctant.
Last November, Athens and Kyiv agreed to jointly produce unmanned naval drones. But the agreement seems to have hit a snag, particularly because Ukraine wants to retain a say over how the Greek armed forces would use the systems. Athens sees that as a way for Ukraine to maintain leverage in its relations with Turkey
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