Audio By Carbonatix
Croatian officials criticized NATO on Saturday for what they said was its slow reaction to a military drone that apparently flew all the way from the Ukrainian war zone over several NATO member states, before crashing in an urban zone of the Croatian capital.
The Russian-made unmanned aircraft crossed Romania and Hungary before entering Croatia and slamming late Thursday into a field near a student dormitory. Some 40 parked cars were damaged but no one was injured after a loud blast.
NATO said the alliance’s integrated air and missile defense had tracked the object’s flight path. But the Croatian prime minister said the country’s authorities were not informed and that NATO reacted only after question were posed by journalists.
“We cannot tolerate this situation, nor should it have ever happened,” Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said while visiting the crash site.
“This was a pure and clear threat and both NATO and the EU should have reacted," he said. "We will work to raise the readiness not only of us but of others as well. ”
Plenkovic said a Soviet-era Tu-141 “Strizh” reconnaissance drone flew for over 40 minutes over Hungary and six to seven minutes over Croatia before crashing. Earlier, the Romanian defense authorities said the flying object was in Romania’s airspace for only three minutes after crossing from Ukraine, making it hard to intercept.
Plenkovic called on the Hungarian authorities to launch an investigation into why its defenses apparently did not notice the unmanned drone as both Croatia and Romania had little time to react to the fast-moving object.
“Fortunately, something much worse did not happen,” Plenkovic said, adding that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban “found out about this after me.”
“This could have fallen on the nuclear power plant in Hungary. Obviously, there was no good reaction and other countries did not react well. Now we have a test from which we have to learn and react much better,” he said.
He said that only an air crash investigation can determine who launched the drone - the Russians or the Ukrainians — after the object is pulled out of a large crater created after impact.
Both Russia and Ukraine have denied they launched the drone.
Military experts say Ukraine is the only known current operator of the Tu-141, which has a wingspan of nearly 4 meters (12 feet) and weighs just over 6 tons.
Latest Stories
-
GRIDCo completes tower replacement on Tema-Achimota transmission line
4 minutes -
Republic Bank-JoyNews Habitat Fair Mini Clinic ends on a high note at Achimota Retail Centre
8 minutes -
7-month-old baby found dead in a drain at Obuasi Old Estate
1 hour -
Tunisia coast guard recovers eight bodies of migrants whose boat sank
1 hour -
One man diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK ‘every eight minutes’
1 hour -
We couldn’t afford prepaid credit after I lost 2012 election – Obuobia Darko
1 hour -
NSMQ 2026: Kpando SHS brush aside Abor, Jukwa to storm One-Eighth stage with 32 point gap
3 hours -
Duncan Amoah: Gov’t should create conditions for 24-hour economy, not build markets
3 hours -
JoyNews-Republic Bank Habitat Fair finale turns homeownership dreams into real possibilities
3 hours -
Bamiri chief commissions KG block, guest house to boost education and revenue
4 hours -
NSMQ 2026: Yaa Asantewaa Girls’ going ‘beck’ to Tanoso after Bishop Herman deals them early exit
4 hours -
Data Protection Commission acquires two vehicles to strengthen data protection enforcement
4 hours -
NSMQ 2026: Holy Child School storms back from two-year NSMQ absence to book One-Eighth ticket
6 hours -
GNFS dismisses reports of unpaid 2025 rent allowance
7 hours -
Gordon Asare-Bediako steps down from NPP Communications Director race, backs Dennis Aboagye
7 hours