Denmark says Russian frigate fired flares at helicopter / Photo: © Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/File
Denmark says Russian frigate fired flares at helicopter
Denmark and Russia were at a war of words Tuesday after Danish authorities accused a Russian frigate of firing flares at a Danish military helicopter.
The armed forces said in a statement late Monday that "one of the air force's Fennec helicopters was today fired at with flares during a routine photographic operation of a Russian frigate, which was located in international waters off Gedser," Denmark's southernmost town.
The frigate had fired "two flares towards the helicopter. One of the flares passed at close range to the helicopter," it added.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Tuesday slammed the incident as "reckless action from Russia".
"Russian actions are meant to intimidate and divide. They will not succeed. We will not waver," Frederiksen said in a statement on X.
However, Vladimir Barbin, the Russian ambassador to Denmark, fired back saying it was the helicopter that had been at fault.
"The Danish side's attempts to explain the helicopter's provocative actions against the Russian frigate as 'routine practice' give rise to serious concern about the possible consequences of such recklessness," Barbin said in written statement to AFP.
"The Russian side will thoroughly investigate all the circumstances of the incident," Barbin said while adding that "this is not the first time that Danish Air Force helicopters have carried out dangerous manoeuvres near Russian warships, when they were at sea and outside Denmark's territorial waters."
Barbin said he had last year informed the Danish foreign ministry of "dangerous flyovers and low-altitude hovering" by a Danish Air Force helicopter over a large anti-submarine vessel.
- Ambassador summoned -
Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said the actions were "completely unacceptable and could have put human lives at risk".
"I have therefore summoned the Russian ambassador for a discussion about the incident," he said in a statement sent to AFP.
"Russia is gradually shifting the boundary for what they consider acceptable behaviour," he warned.
"That is something we cannot accept," he said.
Danish media reported that Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus had summoned representatives of the parties in parliament for a briefing on the incident at the defence ministry.
Tensions over the Baltic Sea have risen sharply since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Denmark, a member of NATO and staunch supporter of Ukraine, has accused Russia of conducting hybrid operations on its territory.
In the autumn 2025, unidentified drones flew over several Danish airports and the Skrydstrup air base -- where Ukrainian pilots are trained on F-16 fighter jets.
The flights began just days after Denmark announced that it would acquire long-range precision weapons for the first time, due to the threat posed by Russia.
While investigators failed to identify those responsible for the drone flights, Frederiksen at the time pointed to finger at Russia.
Danish intelligence agency PET in September warned that Russia was "actively preparing acts of sabotage targeting the defence industry in Denmark".
The agency told AFP that Russia was recruiting "ordinary Danes" on social media to take photos that could be used in planning acts of sabotage.
The Scandinavian country has also accused hacker groups linked to the Russian state of carrying out cyberattacks against Denmark.
(M.Travkina--DTZ)
Featured