Denmark accused a Russian warship today of firing two flares at one of its military helicopters while it was monitoring the vessel in the Baltic Sea. According to the Danish armed forces, the incident occurred in international waters near the port of Gedser, located south of the island of Falster. Although one of the flares passed close to the helicopter, the attack caused no material or personal damage.
Read more Moscow warns Poland that it will cease to exist “in 2 or 3 days” if it attacks Russia
In a message posted on social media, Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, described the episode as a “reckless action” and framed it within the “hybrid war” that “an increasingly aggressive Russia” is waging against Europe and NATO partners. “This is not surprising because it is part of a recurring pattern,” said the leader, who called for strengthening European defense to face this threat.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, for his part, called the incident “completely unacceptable” and accused Moscow of “gradually changing the limits of what is considered acceptable behavior.” To express his displeasure, Rasmussen summoned the Russian ambassador to Denmark for a meeting. For now, the Kremlin remains silent. Its spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, has avoided commenting on the incident, claiming that Moscow “does not have the details” of the case.
The Danish straits are the main entry and exit route to the Baltic for commercial and military maritime transport. They also constitute an important artery for the global shipment of oil, including that of the so-called Russian ghost fleet, the vessels Moscow uses to evade Western sanctions on its oil.
Danish intelligence services already warned last year that Russian warships had shown hostile behavior towards vessels and helicopters, but Russia has always denied such accusations and denies conducting a hybrid war.
Read more The Government launches investments of 13 billion in airports with minimal fare increases
Today’s reported incident coincided with the downing of a drone in Lithuania by NATO forces. The device was intercepted in the air shortly after midnight and fell in Kaunas County, in the south of the Baltic country. According to preliminary data, the drone likely entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus, although authorities did not specify whether the drone was Russian or Ukrainian. It is worth noting that Ukrainian devices have repeatedly entered NATO airspace in the Baltic region. According to Kyiv, the vehicles are diverted from their route by Russian signal interference.
Lithuanian authorities reported that, due to the possible aerial threat, operations and airspace at Vilnius airport were temporarily restricted.
Today’s incident in Lithuania adds to other similar ones that have occurred in recent months in the Baltic countries. The most serious of these took place in May, when two unmanned aerial vehicles struck an oil storage facility in Rezekne, in eastern Latvia.
