Moscow has warned Denmark to avoid “reckless” action after a Russian frigate fired two flares that narrowly missed a Danish military helicopter.
Moscow’s ambassador in Copenhagen, Vladimir Barbin, on Tuesday insisted that “dangerous manoeuvres” taken by the Danish aircraft were to blame for the Baltic Sea incident.
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The Russian diplomat told state news agency RIA Novosti that he had delivered a formal note demanding steps to prevent a repeat of the episode.
He said that the helicopter’s actions were provocative and condemned Danish attempts to call them routine, saying they raised “serious concern about the possible consequences of such recklessness”.
The Fennec helicopter was on a routine mission to photograph the frigate as it sailed in international waters off Denmark, the Danish defence command said. Ships typically use such flares as warning signals.
Denmark’s Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus told TV 2 News that one flare passed within a “matter of metres” of the aircraft, and accused Russia of “deeply unprofessional seamanship”.
When asked if Denmark would seek Article 5 consultations over the incident – invoking the NATO measure that considers an attack against one member of the bloc to be an attack against all of them – Bruus said the incident was being taken seriously, but “we are not there”.
Barbin said he had complained last year about what he called dangerous fly-bys and low hovering by a Danish helicopter over the Russian warship Vice-Admiral Kulakov.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment, saying he lacked details.
The Danish Straits – where most Danish incidents with Russia have taken place – are the Baltic’s main shipping gateway and a key oil route, including for Russian oil tankers.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the incident serious but not surprising, describing it as part of a pattern of intensifying Russian hybrid warfare against Europe and testing NATO.
‘Fear and discord’
“Russia wants to sow fear and discord,” Frederiksen said, calling for closer unity and stronger defences for Denmark and Europe.
Russia denies carrying out hybrid attacks in Europe. However, the potential for the war in Ukraine to escalate and entangle Europe’s NATO member states is rising.
A spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry later on Tuesday warned Western politicians and diplomats to “soberly” assess the risks of travelling to Ukraine, following a Russian drone strike on a rail line on which a train carrying former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt had passed minutes earlier.
Rail hubs and transport infrastructure serving Ukraine’s military are legitimate targets, she said, and Russia warned foreign diplomats in May to leave Kyiv because of strikes on Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.
