Denmark has summoned the Russian ambassador after accusing a Russian frigate of firing two emergency flares at one of its air force helicopters in the Baltic Sea, in what Danish officials are calling a serious and unacceptable provocation. The incident occurred on Monday during what the Danish armed forces described as a "routine photographic operation" of the Russian vessel, which was sailing in international waters off Gedser, a port town at the southern tip of the Danish island of Falster. One of the two flares passed close to the helicopter, though no crew members were injured and the aircraft was undamaged.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen condemned the action as "reckless", saying it was designed to "intimidate and divide". Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen accused Russia of "gradually shifting the boundary for what they consider acceptable behaviour", while Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus noted that the frigate's crew made no attempt to establish radio contact before firing. Russia's ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, said Moscow would investigate the incident but pushed back firmly, arguing it was "not the first time" Danish helicopters had conducted "dangerous manoeuvres near Russian warships" and describing the helicopter's actions as "provocative". The Kremlin said it had no details to share.
The flare incident coincided with another significant security event on NATO's eastern flank: overnight, NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that had entered Lithuanian airspace — the first such interception in the country's history. Lithuania, a Baltic state bordering both Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, said the drone most likely crossed in from Belarus, a close Russian ally. It flew for around 30 minutes along the outskirts of populated areas near Kaunas, Lithuania's second-largest city, before being intercepted near the village of Pratkūnai. Lithuanian officials confirmed that an explosive device was found on board and was subsequently neutralised by bomb-disposal experts. Poland also reported conducting "preventive" aviation operations overnight in response to Russian drone activity near Ukrainian territory.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described both incidents as "part of a broader pattern of Russian aggression and provocation against Europe, testing our readiness and our resolve." NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, speaking a day earlier after a Russian drone struck a railway line near the Ukraine-Poland border, had warned that such actions reflected Russian President Vladimir Putin's desire to "sow fear and terror" — and pledged to strengthen the alliance's defences along its eastern borders.
The back-to-back incidents underscore the increasingly volatile security environment across northern and eastern Europe since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Stray drones have repeatedly tested NATO member states' airspace in the Baltic region, and Western governments including Germany, the United Kingdom and Denmark have in recent weeks accused Russia of a wider campaign involving sabotage, arson and surveillance of defence facilities. For Denmark and its neighbours, Monday's events reinforced concerns that Moscow is deliberately probing the limits of what it can do without triggering a direct military response.