 Tu-141 Strizh at Central Air Force Museum, Monino, Russia, similar to one that crashed in Zagreb | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 10 March 2022 |
| Summary | Flew over Hungary and Romania before running out of fuel; crashed near a major student dormitory in Zagreb, Croatia |
| Site | Zagreb, Croatia 45°47′4″N 15°57′0″E / 45.78444°N 15.95000°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Tupolev Tu-141 |
| Operator | Undisclosed Proclaimed state secret by Croatian, Hungarian and Romanian governments.[1] |
| Flight origin | Somewhere in Ukraine (suspected)[2] |
| Destination | Unknown |
| Occupants | 0 |
On 10 March 2022 at 23:01 CET, an unidentified Soviet-made Tupolev Tu-141 reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. With an unidentified operator and unknown destination, the origin of the drone is presumed to be connected to military actions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The drone's flight over Croatia, Hungary and Romania (all three being NATO states) prompted criticism of the countries' defense systems as the UAV was detected but not cleared. In response, the Croatian government restricted airspace over populous cities and received military support from France and the United States who dispatched multiple fighter-jets to Croatia days later for joint exercises.[3][4]
- ^ "Ministar Banožić: Znamo tko je ispalio dron koji je pao na Zagreb" [Banožić: We know who fired a drone which crashed on Zagreb]. Jutarnji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ "Plenković o padu drona u Zagrebu: Lansiran je iz Ukrajine, ali ne znamo čiji je. Ovakvu situaciju ne možemo tolerirati. Ovo je bila prijetnja na koju treba reagirati" [Plenković on the drone crash in Zagreb: It was launched from Ukraine, but we don't know whose it is. We cannot tolerate this situation. This was a threat that needed to be responded to]. Večernji list (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
- ^ "United States Air Force F-16s from Italy support NATO's collective defence in Croatia". ac.nato.int. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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