A Danish military helicopter was nearly hit by warning flares fired from a Russian frigate in international waters off Gedser in the Baltic Sea, the Danish armed forces said late on Monday.
The helicopter was filming the vessel as part of what the military described as a routine task when two flares were fired from the frigate. One of them passed close to the aircraft. The helicopter was not damaged, and its crew were unharmed.
It is not yet clear why the Russian ship fired the flares. Danish Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus told Danish media there had been no communication between the frigate and the helicopter before the incident. “That is why it is highly unprofessional,” Bruus said. “There are plenty of channels and opportunities to communicate.”
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Russia’s ambassador in Copenhagen will be summoned over the incident.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the episode was “regrettably not surprising” and added that it was part of “a pattern we are seeing across Europe”.
