Denmark is on edge after mysterious drones were spotted above four airports across the country late Wednesday and early Thursday. The country’s defense minister described the drone flights as part of a “hybrid attack” and they come after a similar incident at Copenhagen’s airport on Tuesday. While Denmark’s government hasn’t officially blamed Russia yet, officials are investigating that possibility.
“The aim of this type of hybrid attack is to spread fear, create division and frighten us,” said Denmark’s justice minister Peter Hummelgaard, according to France 24, also referencing recent cyberattacks.
At least five Danish airports saw the drones overnight, including at Aalborg and Billund airports, which had to close for hours, according to the BBC. Skrydstrup air base, where at least one drone was also spotted, is home to F-35 and F-16. fighter jets.
Denmark has told NATO allies that “state actors” were behind the drone incursions, according to Reuters, but it’s unclear whether they’ve definitively identified Russia yet. Russia seems to be acting more boldly this year in antagonizing NATO allies, as leaders from European nations speak out forcefully about the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Earlier this week, after the Copenhagen airport was shut down, Russia suggested the drone sightings were a false flag intended to start a war between Russia and NATO allies.
“The suspicions against Russia are ungrounded,” Russia’s embassy in Denmark tweeted. “The incident in the sky above Copenhagen Airport reveals a clear desire to provoke NATO countries into a direct military confrontation with Russia. It is unacceptable to pander to this.”
Other European countries have also seen aircraft incursions in recent weeks, including Estonia, Norway, and Romania. Poland shot down Russian drones on Sept. 10, prompting President Donald Trump to send an ominous social media post declaring, “Here we go!”
Three Russian fighter jets entered Estonian air space for 12 minutes last week in what the government called a “brazen” incursion, before Italian Air Force F-35 fighter jets, deployed through NATO, escorted the Russian planes into international air space.
President Trump promised to end the war between Russia and Ukraine before he even took office, but has obviously failed to deliver. And it seems Trump has grown impatient with President Vladimir Putin, who’s been leading him around by the nose. Trump invited Putin for a much hyped meeting in Alaska but it changed nothing about the dynamic. And Trump made a surprising remark earlier this week while at the United Nations, claiming that Ukraine could retake all of its territory currently occupied by Russia. Trump even called Russia a “paper tiger.”
Trump’s comments seemed to surprise Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was asked about it on Fox News. The president wasn’t overly optimistic that Trump’s pivot would bring a quick resolution to the war, however, saying, “It looks like it’s not going to end for a long time.”
The UK’s Channel 4 reports that the drones in Denmark must have been launched locally, “possibly by sea,” though details about how the drones were put in the air haven’t been officially released.
Why is Denmark getting targeted right now? The country is a member of NATO, obviously, but it may also have something to do with a recent announcement that Denmark would buy long-range precision weapons capable of hitting Russia. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called it “a paradigm shift in Danish defense policy,” and specifically cited Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a driving force behind the decision.
Russia called Denmark’s decision “pure madness” and considered the plan to buy weapons an overt threat, according to the New York Times. “No one, anywhere, ever in the world has considered threatening a nuclear power publicly,” Russia’s ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, reportedly said. “These statements will no doubt be taken into account.”
The Danish people are obviously concerned about what lies ahead. DR, Denmark’s national broadcaster, currently has an article at the top of its homepage titled, “How to talk to your child about drones and hybrid attacks.” But all of Europe is rattled by Russia’s implied threats, both short-term and long-term.
German defense minister Boris Pistorius warned a space conference in Berlin this week that his country’s satellites are being shadowed by Russian satellites. Pistorius said Germany has already been the target of jamming attacks and is worried that it could pose a threat to military communications.
“Thirty-nine Chinese and Russian reconnaissance satellites are flying over us,” Pistorius told the conference, according to Sky News, “so be careful what you say”.