Denmark summons Russian ambassador after warship fires flares at helicopter
Denmark accused a Russian frigate of firing two emergency flares at a Danish Air Force helicopter during a monitoring mission in the Baltic Sea, prompting a diplomatic protest.
Denmark said a Russian warship launched two emergency flares at a Danish Air Force Fennec helicopter while the aircraft was conducting a routine photographic operation over a Russian frigate in international waters off Gedser in the Baltic Sea. One of the flares passed close to the helicopter, according to a statement from the Danish armed forces.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the action reckless and intended to intimidate, while Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Russia was shifting the limits of acceptable behaviour. Denmark summoned the Russian ambassador to lodge a formal protest.
Russia’s ambassador, Vladimir Barbin, said Moscow would investigate the incident but blamed the Danish helicopter for provocative manoeuvres, noting similar occurrences in the past. He argued that communication problems lay with the Danish side rather than Russian vessels.
The incident occurred on the same day NATO forces shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle over Lithuania, heightening concerns about security on the alliance’s eastern flank amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the flare incident and the drone shoot-down as part of a broader pattern of Russian aggression toward Europe.