Controlled disposal · Greece
Military sea drone found in Lefkada cave, Greece; Ukraine denies ownership
· Lefkada
Military USV; disputed operator
On 7 May 2026 a fisherman found a military unmanned surface vessel, or sea drone, in a coastal cave on the Greek island of Lefkada. He reportedly moved or towed the vessel before the authorities secured it. Explosives were reported on the drone.
Greek officials described the sea drone as Ukrainian-built or of a Ukrainian type. Ukraine denied ownership, and ownership remains disputed. Its launch point and route are unknown. A later Greek investigation, reported on 15 May, considered that it may have suffered a technical failure or travelled off course.
No casualties were reported. The Coast Guard, police and Navy investigated, the vessel was transferred to a naval facility, and the explosives were later destroyed in a controlled disposal.
Attribution and uncertainty
- Origin / operator / attribution
- Greek officials: Ukrainian-built/type; Ukraine denied ownership
- Investigation / uncertainty
- Ownership disputed; later probe considered technical failure/off-course travel.
Sources · 3
Full record
Controlled disposal by authorities; kept separate from incident explosions.
Map positions are approximate anchors for the named place, not verified incident coordinates.
- Reported date
- 2026-05-07
- Date basis
- Discovery 7 May; major reports 8 and 15 May; EEST
- Location / jurisdiction
- Coastal cave on Lefkada; Greek coast/waters
- Event categories
- Fisherman discovery; maritime recovery; seizure; explosive disposal
- What was reported
- Fisherman found vessel and reportedly moved/towed it before authorities secured it.
- Aircraft / vessel / quantity
- 1 military unmanned surface vessel
- Origin / operator / attribution
- Greek officials: Ukrainian-built/type; Ukraine denied ownership
- Damage / casualties / disruption
- No casualties reported
- Response / outcome
- Coast Guard, police and Navy investigated; transferred to naval facility; explosives later destroyed.
- Investigation / uncertainty
- Ownership disputed; later probe considered technical failure/off-course travel.
- Route / entry mechanism
- Launch point/route unknown; malfunction considered possible
- Explosive payload
- Explosives reported
- Counting / links
- Discovery, transfer and disposal are linked stages, not separate drones.
- Research provenance
- Prior research; not independently rechecked in full for this export
Record E017. Record fields keep the register’s original wording.