According to Xinhua news agency, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on September 15 that he had summoned the Russian Ambassador to Denmark after a Russian frigate fired 2 flares towards the country's military helicopter.
Mr. Rasmussen called the incident "unacceptable", and said that this action could endanger human lives.
According to the Danish Armed Forces, the incident occurred on September 14 (local time) in international waters off Gedser, southern Denmark, when a Fennec helicopter of the Danish Air Force was conducting routine imaging reconnaissance operations against a Russian ship.
One of the 2 flares flew close to the helicopter. The Danish Armed Forces said that flares are fireworks equipment commonly used to transmit signals at sea.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called Russia's actions reckless, and said that the incident was aimed at threatening and dividing European nations.
On September 15, Danish Defense Minister Jeppe Bruus informed the parties in Parliament about the incident. He said that Denmark is maintaining dialogue with allies, but there is no basis to activate Article 4 or Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Article 4 allows NATO members to conduct consultations when a country believes that its security or political independence is threatened. Meanwhile, Article 5 stipulates the principle of collective self-defense, according to which an attack on a member is considered an attack on the entire alliance.
In response, Russian Ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin accused Danish military helicopters of performing dangerous actions near Russian warships in the Baltic Sea. According to information from Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, Mr. Barbin said he had handed over an official protest note to Copenhagen and requested Denmark to take measures to prevent similar incidents from recurring.
The Russian Ambassador also recalled an incident in August 2025, when accusing a Danish helicopter of flying close and at low altitude above the Russian anti-submarine ship Vice-Admiral Kulakov. According to the Russian side, these actions could increase the risk of incidents between military vehicles.
