An Irish navy ship detected up to five drones operating near the flight path of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's aircraft as he arrived for a state visit to Ireland on Monday, according to Irish and Ukrainian media reports. The sighting prompted a major security alert amid concerns of an attempt to interfere with the flight path, the Irish Times reported, citing unnamed sources who said the aircraft was not in danger.
The drones were first spotted north-east of Dublin, approximately 20km from the airport, and reached the location where Zelenskyy's plane was expected at the exact moment it was due to pass, the Journal website reported. Inquiries are underway to determine whether the drones originated from land or an undetected ship.
Ukrainian media quoted Dmytro Lytvyn, an adviser to Zelenskyy, as saying Ukrainian officials were aware of the drones but deemed no action necessary. "According to their data, there were indeed such drones, but this did not affect the visit and there was no need to force any change to the visit," he said. Ireland's Defence Forces declined to comment on specifics for security reasons but confirmed that support for the security operation led by police was successfully deployed, resulting in a safe visit.
