A Russian frigate fired two flares at a Danish military helicopter during a regular surveillance mission off the southern coast of Denmark, in the Baltic Sea. The incident occurred when the French-made Fennec helicopter was carrying out a routine photography and surveillance mission of a Russian frigate off Gedser, in southern Denmark. One of the flares passed close to the aircraft.
The Danish Armed Forces announced the incident on Monday night, considering it serious and a factor increasing tension between Moscow and NATO allied countries. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stressed that the episode fits into a pattern of increasingly aggressive and assertive Russian behavior in Europe, with intensification of hybrid warfare against the continent and direct tests of NATO.
The incident occurred in international waters and led Danish authorities to summon the Russian ambassador for clarification. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen described the episode as "completely unacceptable". Denmark is one of NATO's twelve founding countries.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the Atlantic Alliance has "all response options" to counter Russia's hybrid threats. The episode joins a growing sequence of incidents involving Russian forces and European countries in the Baltic region and northern Europe, raising concerns about a possible escalation that could involve the activation of the alliance's Article 5.
