Russia Sends Warning to Denmark After Near‑Miss with Danish Helicopter in Baltic Sea

Moscow and Copenhagen exchange accusations over a near‑miss incident in the Baltic Sea, while Denmark stops short of invoking NATO’s collective defence clause.

Moscow has warned Denmark to avoid “reckless” actions after a Russian frigate fired two warning flares that narrowly missed a Danish military helicopter.

Russia’s ambassador to Copenhagen, Vladimir Barbin, blamed the incident on “dangerous manoeuvres” by the Danish aircraft.

The Russian diplomat told RIA Novosti that he had delivered a formal note demanding measures to prevent a recurrence.

He described the helicopter’s actions as provocative and dismissed Denmark’s characterization of the operation as routine, warning that such recklessness raised “serious concern about possible consequences.”

According to the Danish defence command, the Fennec helicopter was on a routine mission to photograph the frigate operating in international waters off Denmark. Flare illumination is a standard vessel warning method.

Denmark’s Defence Minister, Jeppe Bruus, said a flare passed “within metres” of the aircraft and accused Russia of “deeply unprofessional seamanship” in a TV 2 News interview.

When asked whether Denmark would seek NATO Article 5 consultations—treating an attack on one member as an attack on all—Bruus said the matter was being taken seriously but added, “we are not there.”

Barbin recalled lodging a complaint last year over what he termed dangerous fly‑bys and low‑altitude hovers by a Danish helicopter near the Russian warship Vice‑Admiral Kulakov.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment, stating he lacked sufficient details.

The Danish Straits, a primary gateway for Baltic shipping and a key oil transit route for Russian tankers, are the site of most recent Danish‑Russian encounters.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described the incident as serious but unsurprising, characterising it as part of an intensifying pattern of Russian hybrid warfare aimed at Europe and testing NATO.

‘Fear and discord’

“Russia wants to sow fear and discord,” Frederiksen said, urging greater unity and stronger defences across Denmark and Europe.

Russia denies carrying out hybrid attacks in Europe. However, the potential for the war in Ukraine to broaden and involve NATO members is rising.

A spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry later warned Western politicians and diplomats to “soberly” assess the risks of travelling to Ukraine, following a Russian drone strike on a railway line that 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 supporting Ukraine’s military are legitimate targets,” she said, adding that Russia had warned foreign diplomats in May to leave Kyiv because of strikes on Ukraine’s military‑industrial complex.

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