Denmark has lodged a formal protest with Russia after one of its military helicopters was targeted with emergency flares by a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea. According to the Danish armed forces, a Fennec helicopter was carrying out a routine surveillance flight near the port town of Gedser, photographing a Russian frigate in international waters, when the vessel launched two flares. One of them passed close enough to the aircraft to raise serious safety concerns.
Danish officials did not mince words. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the move “reckless,” saying it appeared designed to intimidate and sow division, while Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen accused Moscow of steadily pushing the limits of what it considers acceptable conduct. Denmark has since summoned Russia’s ambassador to explain the episode; Moscow has offered no public response.
The confrontation unfolded the same night NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that crossed into Lithuanian airspace from neighboring Belarus, close to the city of Kaunas. Lithuania’s president linked the incursion to escalating Russian aggression tied to the war in Ukraine. Poland, too, reported carrying out defensive air operations overnight due to Russian drone activity near its border.
The incidents add to a string of airspace violations along NATO’s eastern edge this year, as alliance members Estonia and Latvia have also intercepted stray drones believed linked to Russian electronic interference. Read the full BBC report for more details.
Source: Denmark says Russian warship fired flares at military helicopter (feeds.bbci.co.uk). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: Defence Images, BY-SA 2.0 (via Openverse).