Denmark accused a Russian warship of firing two emergency flares at a Danish military helicopter during a monitoring operation in the Baltic Sea on Monday. One of the flares passed close to the helicopter, prompting Denmark to summon Russia’s ambassador and label the incident as “reckless” and “intimidating.” Russia responded by stating it would investigate but also accused Denmark of carrying out dangerous maneuvers near Russian vessels. The incident occurred amid heightened tensions in NATO's eastern flank following a separate event where NATO forces shot down a drone over Lithuania.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-16,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On September 15, NATO fighter jets shot down a drone near Pratkunai village in southern Lithuania, close to Kaunas. The origin of the drone remains undetermined but it likely entered from Belarus. This incident follows similar events where stray drones were reportedly shot down over Estonia and Latvia earlier in the year. Ukraine has been stepping up long-range drone attacks on Russia, causing concerns that the conflict might spill beyond its borders into NATO territory. Additionally, Denmark accused a Russian warship of firing flares dangerously close to one of its military helicopters during routine monitoring operations in the Baltic Sea, further escalating tensions between NATO and Russia.
Written for “NATO Russia Tensions Escalate” on 2026-09-15,
grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 9789 · logged 2026-09-16
- Published
Denmark has accused a Russian warship of firing two emergency flares at one of its helicopters while it was tracking the vessel in the Baltic Sea.
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it → publish → Sea
The Danish government has summoned the Russian ambassador over the incident, which it said happened during a "routine" monitoring operation on Monday.
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it → summon → Monday
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen branded the Russian action "reckless" and said it was designed to "intimidate and divide".
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it → brand → action
Russia said it would "thoroughly investigate" the incident but accused Danish helicopters of making "dangerous manoeuvres" near Russian warships.
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it → say → warships
It came on the same day that Nato forces shot down a drone over Lithuania in the latest security scare on the alliance's eastern flank, where tensions remain high amid Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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tensions → come → Ukraine
In a statement detailing the incident in the Baltic Sea, the Danish armed forces said: "One of the air force's Fennec helicopters was today fired at with flares during a routine photographic operation of a Russian frigate, which was located in international waters off Gedser."
Of the two flares fired at the helicopter, one passed close to it, the statement added.
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statement → detail → it
The Danish foreign ministry described the incident as "completely unacceptable".
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ministry → describe → incident
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen accused Russia of "gradually shifting the boundary for what they consider acceptable behaviour", adding: "That is something we cannot accept."
In a statement, Russian ambassador Vladimir Barbin said Moscow would "thoroughly investigate all the circumstances of the incident" but accused the Danish helicopter of carrying out "provocative actions".
Barbin said this was "not the first time that Danish Air Force helicopters have carried out dangerous manoeuvres near Russian warships".
He said he had complained about a similar incident last year, adding that the latest event showed that "communication problems lie not with the Russian Navy's vessels, but with the Danish side".
Russia's behaviour was "reckless and dangerous," the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on social media.
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President → accuse → media
This incident – together with the drone over Lithuania – was "part of a broader pattern of Russian aggression and provocation against Europe", she added.
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she → add → Europe
Danish Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus told Reuters no attempt to make contact with helicopters had been made by the frigate's crew.
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attempt → tell → crew
Overnight, Nato fighter pilots shot down a drone that entered Lithuania's airspace.
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that → shoot → airspace
Authorities said the drone likely entered southern Lithuania, near the second-largest city of Kaunas, from neighbouring Belarus shortly after midnight on Tuesday.
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drone → say → Tuesday
The origins of the drone have yet to be determined, the Lithuanian national crisis management centre said, but the country's president pointed to increased Russian aggression in recent months.
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president → have → months
President Gitanas Nausėda wrote on X: "With Russia intensifying its aggression against Ukraine, such readiness is vital for our region.
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readiness → write → region
Together with our Nato Allies, Lithuania will defend its airspace.
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Lithuania → defend → airspace
Lithuania shares a large part of its southern and eastern border with Belarus, a key Russian ally.
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Lithuania → share → Belarus
Poland also announced there had been "aviation operations" in its airspace on Monday night "due to the activity of Russian Federation's jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicles conducting strikes on Ukrainian territory".
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Poland → announce → territory
It said the overnight operations were of a "preventive nature" and aimed at "securing airspace and its protection, especially in areas adjacent to threatened regions".
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operations → say → regions
Nato jets have been scrambled several times to shoot down stray Ukrainian drones that have crossed into Baltic countries Estonia and Latvia this year.
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that → scramble → countries
Ukraine has blamed the stray drones on Russian electronic warfare, technology designed to change the flight paths of Ukrainian drones.
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Ukraine → blame → drones
The Aporia
