Russian warship fires signal flares at Danish military helicopter

On September 14, a Russian frigate fired two signal flares at a Danish military helicopter operating in international waters off the coast of Gedser, Denmark. According to Denmark's Defence Command, the incident took place while the Royal Danish Air Force AS-550 Fennec helicopter was conducting routine aerial surveillance of the Russian naval vessel.

One of the flares came extremely close to the helicopter, but neither the flight crew nor the aircraft sustained any damage. Danish Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus strongly condemned the incident, stating that it is a serious matter that Denmark treats with great gravity. He announced that Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will summon the Russian ambassador for a formal diplomatic reprimand.

This marks the first time Denmark has encountered such an incident, according to Bruus, suggesting that Russia is becoming increasingly willing to take risks. On September 3, Emil Gresholm, head of counterintelligence at the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, revealed that Russian intelligence had uncovered plans to carry out sabotage operations against Danish defense industrial facilities.