Stray drone from Ukrainian war crashes in Croatia carrying bomb, official says

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A military drone that apparently flew all the way from the Ukrainian war zone over three European NATO-member states before crashing in an urban zone of the Croatian capital was armed with an explosive device, Croatia’s defense minister said Sunday.

Police inspect the site of a drone crash in Zagreb, Croatia, Friday, March 11, 2022. A drone that apparently flew from the Ukrainian war zone crashed overnight on the outskirts of the Croatian capital, Zagreb, triggering a loud blast but causing no injuries, Croatian authorities said Friday.  (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

The Soviet-made aircraft crossed Romania and Hungary before entering Croatia, slamming into a field near a student dormitory late Thursday. About 40 parked cars were damaged in the large explosion, but no one was injured.

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"Traces of explosives and clues suggesting that this was not a reconnaissance aircraft were found. We found parts of an air bomb," Croatian Defense Minister Mario Banozic said at the crash site.

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He said that this further raises a question about whether the drone belonged to Russia or Ukraine.

"There are elements that indicated it could have come from both," he said.

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Air crash investigators have pulled most of the drone’s remaining parts from a large crater it created on impact, including a partly damaged black box that should reveal the drone’s flight path.

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Croatian officials have criticized NATO for what they called a slow reaction to a very serious incident and called into question the readiness of the military alliance’s member states to respond to a possible attack.