Russia summoned the Danish ambassador over a helicopter incident in the Baltic Sea

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Danish ambassador to protest “provocations” by a Danish Air Force helicopter that on September 14 was fired upon with signal flares from the Russian corvette “Soobrazitelny”. This was stated by the Russian Foreign Ministry, according to Європейська правда.

Danish Ambassador to Moscow Rolf Holmboe was handed a strong protest “in connection with the unprofessional and provocative actions” of the Danish Air Force Fennec helicopter against the Baltic Fleet corvette “Soobrazitelny”.

According to the ministry, on September 14 in neutral waters in the southwestern part of the Baltic Sea, the helicopter “dangerously approached” and hovered at an altitude of less than 50 meters above the Russian ship, which “posed a real threat to the safety of navigation, could create risks of direct and indirect collision, and lead to interference with the ship's equipment.”

All warnings to the Danish helicopter crew were allegedly ignored. To attract attention, the Russian corvette then fired two signal flares in a direction supposedly opposite to the helicopter, after which it allegedly stopped its “provocative actions” and left the area where the ship was located.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed to the diplomat that the Russian side considers Denmark's actions a gross violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“It was emphasized that, given the heightened tension in the Baltic region directly linked to the growing anti-Russian military activity of NATO, a repetition of such reckless actions could lead to escalation and create a risk of a serious incident”, the ministry added.

Recall that Denmark summoned the Russian ambassador after the Russian corvette fired two signal flares at a Danish helicopter on September 14.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, commenting on the incident, said that Russia has intensified its hybrid war against Europe.

The Russian ambassador in Copenhagen stated that it was the Danish military helicopter that “provoked” the Russian ship with its maneuvers.

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov awarded the commander of the corvette “Soobrazitelny”, which fired signal flares at the Danish Armed Forces helicopter in international waters near Gedser.