A routine surveillance flight over the Baltic Sea erupted into a diplomatic flashpoint after Danish authorities said a Russian warship fired flares toward a Danish military helicopter — an incident Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen denounced as “reckless.”
In a statement issued last night, Denmark’s armed forces said “one of the air force’s Fennec helicopters was fired at with flares during a routine photographic operation of a Russian frigate, which was located in international waters off Gedser,” Denmark’s southernmost town.
The military said the Russian vessel fired “two flares towards the helicopter. One of the flares passed at close range to the helicopter,” describing the encounter as occurring while the aircraft carried out standard documentation of the ship.
Ms Frederiksen condemned what she called “reckless action from Russia,” warning that the move appeared designed to rattle Denmark and its allies.
“Russian actions are meant to intimidate and divide. They will not succeed. We will not waver,” she wrote in a statement on X.
PM Mette Frederiksen: “Reckless action from Russia towards Danish military during a routine overflight yesterday. Russian actions are meant to intimidate and divide. They will not succeed. We will not waver.”
— Statsministeriet (@Statsmin) September 15, 2026
Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said the flare launch was “completely unacceptable and could have put human lives at risk,” and announced he would call in Russia’s ambassador.
“I have therefore summoned the Russian ambassador for a discussion about the incident,” he said in a statement.
He also warned that “Russia is gradually shifting the boundary for what they consider acceptable behaviour,” adding: “That is something we cannot accept.”
Moscow had not commented on the report.
Danish media reported that Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus had convened representatives from parliamentary parties for a briefing on the incident at the defence ministry.
The confrontation comes as the Baltic Sea has grown increasingly tense since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a war that has reshaped security calculations across northern Europe.
Denmark — a NATO member and a steadfast backer of Ukraine — has accused Russia of carrying out hybrid operations on Danish soil.
In autumn 2025, unidentified drones were reported flying over several Danish airports and over the Skrydstrup air base, where Ukrainian pilots are trained on F-16 fighter jets.
Those drone flights began only days after Denmark said it would acquire long-range precision weapons for the first time, citing the threat posed by Russia.
Although investigators did not identify who was behind the drone activity, Ms Frederiksen said at the time that Russia was responsible.
Denmark’s intelligence agency PET has also warned that Russia was “actively preparing acts of sabotage targeting the defence industry in Denmark.”
The agency said Russia was recruiting “ordinary Danes” through social media to take photos that could assist in planning sabotage operations.
Denmark has also blamed hacker groups linked to the Russian state for cyber-attacks targeting the country.
The European Union, meanwhile, accused Russia of the “reckless” firing of flares at a Danish frigate.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen condemned what she described as “reckless and dangerous Russian behaviour”.
“These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a broader pattern of Russian aggression and provocation against Europe, testing our readiness and our resolve,” Ms von der Leyen said on X.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
In a separate security incident overnight, an Italian NATO fighter jet shot down a drone over Lithuania shortly after midnight, according to the Lithuanian national crisis management centre.
The drone — believed likely to have entered from Belarus — was downed near Pratkunai village in southern Lithuania, close to Kaunas, the country’s second-largest city, a spokesperson for the centre said.
The spokesperson said the drone’s origin had not yet been determined.
