COPENHAGEN: Russia has warned Denmark against what it called “reckless” actions after a Russian frigate fired two flares that narrowly missed a Danish military helicopter in the Baltic Sea.
The incident took place on Monday in international waters off Denmark. The Danish Fennec helicopter was carrying out what the Danish defence command described as a routine mission to photograph the Russian warship. One of the flares passed within a matter of metres of the aircraft, Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus told Danish television, as reported by Al Jazeera News.
Bruus accused the Russian crew of showing “deeply unprofessional seamanship”. Signal flares are commonly used at sea as warnings, but the close encounter raised concern in Copenhagen.
Russia rejected Denmark’s account. Vladimir Barbin, Moscow’s ambassador to Denmark, said the helicopter had carried out dangerous and provocative manoeuvres near the frigate. He told Russia’s RIA news agency that he had delivered a formal note demanding measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Barbin also referred to a previous complaint involving a Danish helicopter that he said had made dangerous fly-bys and hovered at low altitude over the Russian warship Vice-Admiral Kulakov last year. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment, saying he did not have enough information.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the latest incident serious but said it was part of a wider pattern of what she described as Russia’s intensifying hybrid pressure on Europe. “Russia wants to sow fear and discord,” she said, urging greater unity and stronger defences.
Bruus said Denmark was taking the matter seriously but would not seek NATO Article 5 consultations at this stage. Article 5 treats an attack on one NATO member as an attack on the entire alliance.
The Danish Straits remain a vital gateway for Baltic shipping and a key route for oil tankers, including those carrying Russian crude.
