Ukraine’s Lost Magura Drone Destroyed in Turkey

Turkish military sappers and naval forces monitored a Ukrainian Magura V5 drone that had drifted into the sea.

The Anadolu news agency released footage and details of the operation.

The command of the SAS submarine defense group dispatched technical specialists to neutralize the inactive drone, which was discovered by fishermen near the Turkish port of Yoroz, close to the Çarşibaşi area, on September 29.

After disabling the drone, Turkish forces towed it to a secure location on the Black Sea coast and carried out inspections.

Aziz Yildirim, the regional governor, told reporters that an investigation by coast guard specialists determined that the drone had been used in the Ukrainian-Russian war and could be carrying explosives on board.

“When such conclusions are made […] it is more appropriate to blow it up and destroy it without taking any risks. But we did not come to this conclusion ourselves. Our experts arrived from Istanbul the same night. After their assessment, they determined it was safer to secure it at sea rather than risk moving it,” Yildirim noted.

He added that the drone’s markings also identified it as Ukrainian.

“We can easily say that it belongs to Ukraine. It’s even written on it,” he said.

Authorities said this is not the first time combat drones have reached Turkey’s coast. In 2024, a naval drone built on a jet ski washed ashore in the Black Sea.