COPENHAGEN: Russian warships have repeatedly sailed on collision courses, aimed weapons at Danish naval vessels and disrupted navigation systems in Denmark’s straits that connect the Baltic Sea to the North Sea, its defence intelligence service said on Friday (Oct 3).
Such incidents risk unintended escalation, it said.
The Baltic region remains on high alert after incidents involving undersea cables, gas pipeline outages, airspace violations and drone sightings since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which increased tensions between Moscow and the West.
Denmark, a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its war with Russia, has beefed up its military budget and committed to acquiring long-range precision weapons capable of striking targets inside Russia.
RUSSIAN WARSHIPS POINT WEAPONRY AT DANISH HELICOPTERS, DANISH INTELLIGENCE SAYS
“We have seen several incidents in the Danish straits, where Danish air force helicopters and naval vessels have been targeted by tracking radars and physically pointed at with weapons from Russian warships,” Danish Defence Intelligence Service Director Thomas Ahrenkiel told a press conference.
He said Russian warships had sailed on collision courses with Danish vessels during their passage through the straits.
Ahrenkiel said a Russian warship has been anchored in Danish waters for over a week, suggesting possible interference from Moscow if Denmark tried to curb movements of Russia’s “shadow fleet” of tankers used to circumvent Western sanctions on its oil exports imposed over its war with Ukraine.
In May, tensions escalated in the Baltic Sea when Russia deployed a fighter jet during Estonia’s interception of a Russian-bound oil tanker suspected of being part of the shadow fleet.
The Danish straits, a busy international shipping route, see frequent movement of Russian military vessels that are typically escorted by Denmark’s navy.
