March the 11th, 2022 - The Zagreb aircraft crash which caused an explosion in the capital at around 23:00 last night has been attacting the headlines and even more rumours. You can click here and here to read what we know so far, as well as here for an official government response to the event.

Here's an update from Index - a loud bang was heard in part of the City of Zagreb just after 23:00 last night. Police and firefighters quickly reacted and took to Jarunska cesta where the incident had taken place. A large crater was left in the ground following the aircraft having fallen. As it was announced this morning, what arrived in Croatian airspace and crashed in the capital is a Russian-made unmanned aircraft that arrived here after travelling through neighbouring Hungarian airspace.

"All of the competent services became involved immediately after the crash of a military-type of unmanned aircraft, which, according to the data collected so far, entered Croatian airspace from east to west, ie from Hungarian airspace, at a speed of 700 km / h at an altitude of 1300 m,'' they announced from the government.

Zagreb Police also confirmed that they found two parachutes.

"After 23:00, the Zagreb Police Administration received several reports from people that they felt a detonation in the wider area of ​​Jarun, which was preceded by something falling from the air. Police patrols were urgently sent to the place of the report where they found two parachutes in the wider area, for which we'd also previously received reports about from people. Several parked vehicles were damaged. Police teams which specialise in dealing with and reacting to this type of event were on the ground, and at the moment there is no reason for people to be alarmed,'' the police said.

Here's what we also know:

The former Ukrainian Ambassador to Croatia says the unmanned aircraft is not Ukrainian, and that Ukrainian aircraft of this type have another type of signage and symbols on them. Ukraine has also confirmed that the craft isn't theirs. This follows President Milanovic's claims that the craft had come from Ukraine.

Jadranka Kosor has tweeted that she is unhappy with the statements made by the government in response to this odd Zagreb aircraft crash and that there's now a sense of insecurity.

Croatian air traffic control did not track the strange flying object upon entry into Croatian airspace because it didn't have a transponder.

Defense Minister Mario Banozic claims that the aircraft was in fact tracked.

PM Andrej Plenkovic has informed the appropriate European Union institutions of the bizarre Zagreb aircraft crash, he also spoke with Hungarian leader Viktor Orban.

Military pilot Ivan Selak has said it's ''a shame'' that NATO failed to pick up on the drone, and that it had been in Croatian airspace for eight minutes.

Concerns were growing that the drone was intended for the Ukrainian town of Yarun, but wasn't programmed properly.

For more on the Zagreb aircraft crash, keep up with our news section.

March the 11th, 2022 - Following last night's bizarre Zagreb explosion which involved the falling of pieces of aircraft and two parachutes close to Jarun, as well as many rumours, the government has issued an official statement.

Here it is translated into English in full:

''A meeting of the competent bodies of the security and defense system was held in the Office of the National Security Council, attended by the Deputy Prime Minister for National Security and Minister of Croatian Veterans Mr. Medved, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Mr. Bozinovic, Minister of Defense Mr. Banozic, Director of the Security Intelligence Agency Mr. Markic, Director of the Military Security Intelligence Agency Major General Kinder and Head of the Office of the National Security Council Mr. Franjic.

All relevant services were involved immediately after the crash of a military-type of unmanned aircraft, which, according to data collected so far, entered Croatian airspace from east to west, or from Hungarian airspace, at a speed of 700km/h and at an altitude of 1300m.

A criminal investigation is under way in co-operation between the criminal police and the military police, and other measures are being taken to co-ordinate the security and defense system, including international co-operation, especially with NATO, to determine all of the circumstances [surrounding this incident].''

Source: Vlada.gov.hr

For more on the Zagreb explosion, keep up with our news section.

March the 11th, 2022 - We wrote this morning about an unidentified object which fell from the sky here in the City of Zagreb at around 23:00 last night, with a lot of speculation circulating as to what it was, and more importantly, why it was anywhere near Zagreb. Could a Soviet drone have been the cause of the loud Zagreb explosion last night? Potentially.

As Index/Nenad Jaric Dauenhauer writes, as Index learned during the night from some well-informed sources, according to the information gathered so far, which was obtained by the competent services during the investigation, a drone crashed in Zagreb close to Jarun last night. The crater at the impact site is about one metre deep and about three meters wide. You can read about the event itself and the investigation until now here.

Tyler Rogoway, a military aviation expert and editor of The War Zone on The Drive, has claimed that the cause of the Zagreb explosion and the pieces of aircraft found left behind was a Tu-141 drone.

The Tu-141, or Swift, is an unmanned Soviet reconnaissance drone that served as part of the Soviet Red Army during the late 1970s and 1980s.

It is important to note that the police have NOT yet confirmed this, but if these speculations are confirmed, one of the bigger mysteries will be the answer to the question of how the Tu-141 managed to fly from Ukraine, through Hungary all the way to Zagreb, and how no NATO, Hungarian or Croatian radars managed to even detect it on that utterly strange trip here.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced back in 2016 that the Ukrainian Air Force was rebuilding 68 different types of military aircraft from the Soviet era, including the Tu-141 drone.

What is the Tu-141?

The Tu-141 isn't like modern Predator or Reaper drones, which can fly for a long time while scanning using high-tech sensors. This robotic spacecraft was also not originally intended for combat activities, ie for destruction and killing.

The Tu-141 is designed to perform reconnaissance missions several hundred kilometres behind the front lines at supersonic speeds. It can carry a range of payloads, including film cameras, infrared recording devices, EO recorders and recording radars. It was in Soviet service from 1979 to 1989, mostly on the western borders of the former Soviet Union.

The Tu-141 is 14.33 m long, has a wingspan of 3.88 m and a height of 2.44 m. It has delta or arrow-shaped wings of 10.0 m2 and weighs 6215 kg. It is powered by a powerful turbojet engine, Tumansky KR-17A, and can travel at a maximum supersonic speed of 1,100 km/h. Its range is 1000 km, and the highest altitude at which it operates is about 6000 m.

It is launched from a trailer using solid fuel. It doesn't land like a conventional aircraft, but instead relies on a parachute and retro rockets that allow it to descend gradually in an upright and horizontal position.

There were 152 specimens, it isn't known how many are left now

Ukraine hasn't released any information on just how many Tu-141s remain in the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which began producing the drone on a regular basis back in 1979. The Soviet Union made 152 copies, and they were mostly stationed near the western borders of the former bloc.

According to a book by Russian aviation researcher Yefim Gordon, this Soviet/Russian drone has equipment which is comparable to the KA and KS high-altitude reconnaissance cameras used by the United States during the Cold War. According to Russian weapons and aviation analysts' websites, the Tu-141 probably has a similar radar and infrared sensor as the Soviet reconnaissance jet Su-24MR Fencer E.

If this is true, then the Tu-141 equipment dates back to the late 1980s, which means it is probably not resistant to modern Russian interference. It is not known how Ukraine modernided and equipped any of its remaining Tu-141s.

For more on the Zagreb explosion, keep up with our news section.

March the 11th, 2022 - An explosion in Zagreb could be heard last night at 23:00, and a very strange situation has unfolded since then, with an impact hole, parts of a plane and parachutes discovered. All aviation services claim to not have ''lost'' any aircraft. Here's the situation as we currently understand it, with the latest information first.

As Jutarnji/Tomislav Kukek/Anamaria Hanzek writes, the Zagreb police have also now spoken out about the incident near Jarun:

''On March the 10th, 2022, just after 23:00, the Zagreb Police Administration received several reports from people that they felt a detonation in the wider area of ​​Jarun, which was preceded by the falling of something from the air.

Police patrols were urgently sent to the locations of the report and found a crater on the green area at the address Jarunska bb, while they found two parachutes in the wider area, for which we'd also previously received reports from people. Police officers dealt with both the narrower and wider area of ​​the scene where the investigation is being conducted, with the participation of all relevant services. So far, the police have had no reports of any injuries in the wider area of ​​the scene, though several parked vehicles were damaged.

Out in the field, police teams specialised in dealing with and reacting to this type of event are present, and at the moment there is no reason for people to be alarmed. We'd like to call on the media to responsibly report to the public and present verified information obtained from the relevant services, in order to prevent the spread of misinformation.

We're urging people not to share videos or photos from the scene on social media. If you find yourself in the area of ​​police action, please follow the instructions of the police officers. The police will continuously publish information that has been factually confirmed,'' the police said in a statement.

Here is a timeline of the events surrounding the bizarre explosion in Zagreb, from latest to first:

2.33 -The level of radiation was measured on the spot but no increase was found.

2.23 - Unofficially, it came out that a red star and a Russian cyrillic alphabet could allegedly be seen on parts of the plane. That information has not been confirmed by the police, but it was widely talked about during the investigation.

2.11 - The police cordoned off a vast area around Jarun, no one is allowed to approach it, and special police are on the scene.

1.47 - It was unofficially confirmed that the parts found around the dormitory definitely came from an aircraft, but it is still unknown what exactly happened.

1.35 - Firefighters slowly withdrew from the scene, being replaced by members of the military police.

1.25 - After two hours, the police expanded the area of investigation to the area surrounding the Stjepan Radic dorms. Firefighters removed a large parachute from a tree, and another parachute was also discovered nearby.

1.20 - Military and civil aviation agencies said that they had not ''lost'' any planes.

At around 23:00, a powerful explosion in Zagreb could be felt and heart near the student dormitory (studentski dom), which alarmed the residents of the surrounding buildings. The Emergency Situations Office immediately set off for the scene, and according to the first information from eyewitnesses and officials, it seemed that this is some kind of aircraft had fallen to the ground. Firefighters also received a report of a parachute found on a tree.

Police and firefighters were on the scene and immediately fenced off the area around a large hole made in the asphalt. The road leading to Jarun and the car park were full of debris and asphalt, and there were also damaged cars.

''We didn't see anything, but it was loud. Luckily, no one was passing by at the time. What a horror, I don't know how we're going to sleep tonight,'' said some students.

According to some, the explosion in Zagreb was heard as far away as Tresnjevka. They also claimed that something fell from the sky only 30 metres from one of the pavilions of the Stjepan Radic dorms.

A security guard who was working nearby during the incident said that he didn't see anything, but that the explosion was loud.

''It's still ringing in my ears,'' he said.

We'll bring you more information as we get it.

For more, check our news section.