NATO member country accuses Russian warships of pointing weapons at helicopters and naval ships
Denmark's defense intelligence agency on October 3 accused Russian warships of repeatedly moving along collision-prone routes with Danish vessels, pointing weapons at Danish naval ships and helicopters, and jamming navigation systems in the strait connecting the Baltic Sea with the North Sea.
The agency warned that such actions could lead to “unintended escalation,” according to Reuters. Denmark is a NATO member that strongly supports Ukraine.
“We have had incidents where our helicopters and naval vessels have been tracked by radar and even have had their weapons pointed directly at them by Russian warships,” Thomas Ahrenkiel, director of the Danish Defense Intelligence Agency, told a news conference.
He said Russian warships had been moving on routes that could have caused collisions with Danish vessels as they passed through the strait that connects the Baltic Sea to the North Sea.
Ahrenkiel said a Russian warship had been anchored in the Danish strait for more than a week, suggesting Moscow could intervene if Copenhagen sought to limit the activities of the “dark fleet.”
The strait that Denmark mentioned lies within its territorial waters but is also considered an international waterway under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Denmark cannot prohibit foreign ships from passing through the strait if the journey is a normal transit between two international waters.
Mr. Ahrenkiel said that Danish intelligence also recorded Russian warships turning on hydroacoustic equipment and causing interference while passing through the area. “Russian warships may be involved in at least one incident of GPS interference in Denmark,” Mr. Ahrenkiel said.
Danish intelligence assessed that Russia is increasing pressure on Western countries. “Russia is using military means to exert pressure but does not cross the line of armed conflict in the traditional sense,” Mr. Ahrenkiel said. However, Danish intelligence also admitted that there is no direct military threat to the country.
Russia has repeatedly denied allegations of threatening European security. On October 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin joked that he would “not fly UAVs over Denmark anymore” and called accusations that Russia was deliberately targeting NATO members “absurd”.
The White House called the Danish report “a serious matter”. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The United States is monitoring the situation very closely. The National Security Council is in regular contact with NATO allies. President Trump has also spoken with many European leaders.”