A drone crash in Croatia which is believed to have come from the nearby war in Ukraine is being described as “a serious incident” by the Balkan country’s president Zoran Milanovic. The Soviet-era Tu-141 “Strizh” reconnaissance drone, likely operated by Ukraine’s military (given as the Associated Press noted that it’s the only known country currently operating Tu-141 drones) crashed just outside the capital city of Zagreb on Thursday.
Milanovic questioned “how a relatively unsophisticated drone flew for over an hour over NATO countries without being detected” – indeed it appears it flew across Hungary, possibly Romania, and over much of Croatia.
“We can’t say at this moment whose it was. Those are relatively old-era flying objects that were used in the Soviet Union,” Croatian Chief of Defense Adm. Robert Hranj said. “I can’t even say it flew from Ukraine without detailed analysis.”
When on Thursday unconfirmed crash photos began circulating on the internet, there was speculation it could have been an errant Russian ballistic missile. This week the US dispatched two new Patriot missile batteries to Poland in part on fears that a Russian “stray” missile could enter NATO airspace and territory.
According to details of the drone’s entry into Croatian airspace:
The drone entered Croatia at a speed of 430 miles per hour and an altitude of 4,300. No one was injured in the crash, which is “amazing” consider how big the aircraft was, Zagreb mayor Tomislav Tomasevic said.
The mayor of Zagreb, Tomislav Tomašević, said that “No one was hurt and that is good fortune,” adding that, “It is a relatively big object. It is amazing that no one was hurt.” Debris was reportedly scattered across multiple locations in the vicinity of the crash.
An impact and explosion was heard by area residence, who reported something “foul smelling” in the aftermath. “Photos from the scene show metal pieces of the wreckage scattered on the ground, a parachute hanging from tree branches, and what seems to be a section of a wing,” The Guardian details. Police sealed off the area of the blast for investigation. The Tu-141 has parachutes used for soft landings.