Denmark: Russian frigate fires flares towards Danish military helicopter

A Russian frigate fired two flares towards a Danish military helicopter in international waters off Denmark on Monday, narrowly missing the aircraft, the Nordic NATO member's military said.

The Baltic Sea region is on high alert after incidents involving gas pipeline outages, airspace violations and drone sightings since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, all of which have increased tensions between Moscow and the West.

The Fennec military helicopter had been on a routine mission to photograph the Russian frigate, the Danish defence command said in a statement late on Monday.

One of the flares — pyrotechnics usually used as a warning signal at sea — passed close to the helicopter, the defence command said.

The Russian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.