Russia summons Danish ambassador for helicopter incident

O Denmark's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already summoned the Russian ambassador to the country, Vladimir Barbin, denouncing that a Russian frigate had fired on 14 September two flare rockets against a Danish military helicopter in international waters off the coast of the European country, stressing that one of them had passed "a short distance" from the aircraft.

Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, made harsh criticism of Russia for “a reckless action” against the helicopter, which carried out “a routine flight”.

Today, the Russian ministry has come to contradict the Copenhagen version and to present a “strong protest” to the Danish representative, Rolf Holmboe, assigning responsibility for the incident to the helicopter crew.

“ All warnings about the dangerous altitude of the helicopter, repeatedly transmitted by the Russian crew on international frequencies, have been ignored. To draw attention, the corvette fired two flares in the opposite direction to the helicopter; after that, the aircraft ceased its provocative actions and left the area near the ship ", said the ministry in statement.

The portfolio led by Sergei Lavrov classified the Danish authorities’ accusations of the incident as “unacceptable and absurd” and threatened that ‘the increase in NATO’s anti-russ military activity’ could ‘cause an escalation and generate the risk of a serious incident’.

Denmark has been one of the main supporters of Ukraine in the context of the Russian invasion begun in 2022, which has led to a marked deterioration of relations with Moscow.

NATO countries are concerned about the increased hybrid attacks on Russia in their territories and have strengthened their military presence, especially at the Eastern borders of the Alliance.

The European Union (EU) expressed full solidarity with Estonia on Tuesday, after Tallinn accused the Kremlin of ordering an incendiary attack on a drone manufacturer.

“Russia has been intensifying attacks on our borders, and direct threats to our territory are increasingly frequent,” said European Commission spokesman Christian Wigand.

“Moscow thus seeks to intimidate Europe to reduce its support for Ukraine, but that will not happen,” the spokesman added.

Also French President Emmanuel Macron denounced this episode as a “dangerous reckless escalation” by Russia.

“ The multiplication of these hostile acts reflects a dangerous reckless escalation of Russia, which will only lead to a dead end,” wrote the French social network leader X, recalling the recent “very serious incident” at Leipzig Airport in Germany, the target of an attempted attack involving a drone loaded with explosives.

“Russia must know that it will not win our unity or our determination to continue supporting Ukraine,” Macron added, expressing France’s “total solidarity” with Estonia.

Estonia, a member of NATO and the EU and an ally of Ukraine, accused Russian intelligence services of having ordered a fire in August at Milrem Robotics premises in Tallinn, which specializes in the development and manufacture of unmanned land vehicles.

Also on Tuesday, NATO condemned Russia’s “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric” after Moscow sent the Alliance representatives a document threatening to “use the entire arsenal” available in the face of alleged “provocations” against the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

“ The use of hybrid tactics by Russia is a sign of despair, but we will not be dissuaded from our support for Ukraine,” he said.

The Russian embassy in Brussels published in the X the content of the document, in which Russia expresses “concern” with what it considers NATO “provocative actions” in relation to Kaliningrad, claiming to be ready to retaliate “with all its arsenal” in the face of such actions.