There was a major security alert Monday night when unidentified drones flew near the flight path of Volodymyr Zelensky's plane as he arrived in Dublin. The Journal reports that the large, military-style drones breached a no-fly zone and reached the exact location where the Ukrainian leader's plane was expected to be. Zelensky, however, had landed ahead of schedule moments before the incident. The Journal reports that the drones then circled over an Irish Navy ship that had been secretly deployed ahead of the visit.
The Irish Navy vessel deployed in Dublin Bay was not equipped with drone countermeasures like jammers and it didn't shoot down the five drones out of fear that rounds could land in Dublin, the Irish Times reports. It is not yet known who launched and controlled the drones or where the drones are now. The fact that they had their lights on has led security services to suspect the unauthorized flights were an attempt to disrupt the plane's arrival, not attack it, per the Journal. It appeared that they "wanted to be seen," a security source tells the Times. "They had the capability and intent. They could have taken action at any moment of their choosing," the source says.
The drones were apparently operated by separate pilots, and sources tell the Times that Russian security services were likely behind the incident. It's not clear where the drones took off from, though there was significant Russian "shadow fleet" activity in the area at the time. Asked about the incident by the BBC, Ukraine's presidential office said "the host country is responsible for security." A spokesperson said: "According to their information, there were indeed such drones, but this did not affect the visit and did not require any changes to it."
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