Denmark Summons Russian Ambassador After Warship Fires Flares at Helicopter

The Danish government has summoned the Russian ambassador following an incident in the Baltic Sea where a Russian frigate fired two emergency flares at a Danish air force Fennec helicopter. The incident occurred on Monday while the helicopter was conducting a routine photographic monitoring operation of the Russian vessel in international waters off the coast of Gedser. According to the Danish armed forces, one of the flares passed in close proximity to the aircraft. No attempt to establish radio contact was made by the frigate's crew prior to the deployment of the flares.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen condemned the action as reckless, characterizing it as a deliberate attempt to intimidate and divide. Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen stated that the incident was completely unacceptable, accusing Russia of gradually shifting the boundaries of acceptable behavior. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed these sentiments, describing the event as part of a broader pattern of Russian aggression and provocation against Europe.

In response, Russian ambassador Vladimir Barbin stated that Moscow would investigate the circumstances of the incident. However, he rejected the Danish account, accusing the Danish helicopter of performing dangerous maneuvers near Russian warships. Barbin claimed that such provocations were not isolated, citing previous complaints regarding Danish air operations near Russian naval vessels, and asserted that communication failures originated with the Danish side rather than the Russian navy.

The incident occurred against a backdrop of heightened security concerns across the Baltic region. On the same day, Nato fighter pilots intercepted and shot down a drone that had entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus. While the origin of the drone remains under investigation, Lithuanian authorities have linked the event to increased regional aggression. Simultaneously, Poland reported preventive aviation operations in its airspace overnight, citing the activity of Russian jet powered unmanned aerial vehicles conducting strikes on Ukrainian territory. These events follow a series of similar incidents throughout the year, where Nato jets have been scrambled to address stray drones crossing into Baltic states, which Ukraine has attributed to Russian electronic warfare systems.