Incident in Baltic Sea, Denmark accuses Russian warship of firing flares near military helicopter

Danish authorities have accused a Russian warship of firing two flares toward a helicopter belonging to the Danish Air Force in the Baltic Sea.

The incident was recorded on Monday near Gedser, when the Danish Fennec helicopter was photographing the Russian frigate during a routine monitoring operation. At the time, the vessel was in international waters.

According to the Danish Armed Forces, one of the two flares passed very close to the helicopter. Danish Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus said the Russian crew had not attempted at any point to establish communication with the helicopter before the incident.

Denmark’s Foreign Ministry described the incident as “completely unacceptable”. To seek clarification, Danish authorities summoned the Russian ambassador in Copenhagen.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also reacted, condemning what happened as a “reckless” act. She said Russia’s behavior was intended to “intimidate and divide”.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen accused Moscow of gradually expanding the boundaries of behavior it considers acceptable.

“This is something we cannot accept,” Rasmussen said, warning that such actions could endanger the safety and lives of military personnel.

Russia has given a different account of the incident. Russia’s ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, said Moscow would carefully examine the circumstances, but at the same time accused Danish helicopters of carrying out “dangerous maneuvers” near Russian warships.

Barbin claimed that this was not the first time such an incident had occurred, adding that he had raised similar concerns last year as well.

The Russian diplomat also argued that the difficulties in communication did not stem from Russian Navy vessels, but from the Danish side.