
Four military drones violated a no-fly zone and flew towards Volodymyr Zelensky's plane before it landed at Dublin Airport on Monday, foreign media reported.
The drones arrived at the location where the Ukrainian president's plane was expected to be, but the flight landed shortly before schedule at 11 p.m., The Journal reported.
The unidentified drones then orbited an Irish Navy ship that had been stationed in the Irish Sea ahead of Zelensky's first visit to Ireland.
Sources told The Journal that the drones took off northeast of Dublin before flying for two hours. It is not known who launched the drones or their current location.
Security sources suspect the drones were intended to disrupt Zelensky's arrival in Dublin.
They also said the drones were military-grade and that the incident could be classified as an act of hybrid warfare.
The public was explicitly told that there was a "drone-free zone" over Dublin for Zelensky's trip.
Later, the Irish Times reported that five drones, not four, had violated the no-fly zone. This caused a major security alert, but sources told the newspaper that Mr. Zelensky's plane was slightly ahead and was never in danger.
Russian security services are most likely to be blamed, sources told the Irish Times, but added that there was no direct evidence of this.
The drones had their lights on and appeared to "want to be seen," a security source said. "They had the capability and the intent. They could have taken action at any moment they chose."
The Department of Defense declined to comment due to operational security reasons.
Barry Andrews, a Fianna Fáil MEP, said: “It is a criminal offence to operate a drone within this area without permission.” He thanked the Irish Aviation Authority and the police for keeping Mr and Mrs Zelensky safe.