COPENHAGEN: The Russian embassy in Denmark said Thursday that Russia “firmly rejects” speculation that it was involved in drone flights that caused Danish airports to close twice this week, calling the incidents a “staged provocation.”
“It is evident that the incidents involving reported disruptions at Danish airports are a staged provocation,” the embassy said in post to social media.
“The Russian side firmly rejects the absurd speculations of involvement in the incidents,” it added.
Drones flew over multiple airports across Denmark and caused one of them to close for hours, police said Thursday after a similar incident this week prompted Copenhagen airport to shut.
The latest incidents in Danish skies follow similar events in Poland and Romania and the violation by Russian fighter jets of Estonia’s airspace, which have raised tensions in light of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Drones were spotted at Denmark’s airports in Aalborg, Esbjerg, Sonderborg and at the Skrydstrup air base before leaving on their own, police said.
Aalborg airport, located in northern Denmark and one of the country’s biggest after Copenhagen, was shut down before reopening several hours later.
“It was not possible to take down the drones, which flew over a very large area over a couple of hours,” North Jutland chief police inspector Jesper Bojgaard Madsen said about the incident in Aalborg.
“At this time, we have not apprehended the drone operators either,” he added in a statement.
South Jutland police said they had “received several reports of drone activity at the airports in Esbjerg, Sonderborg and Skrydstrup,” late Wednesday evening.
The Esbjerg and Sonderborg airports were not closed because no flights were scheduled there until Thursday morning.
Police there said the drones “flew with lights and were observed from the ground, but it has not yet been clarified what type of drones they are... or what the motive is.”
An investigation was underway with the Danish intelligence service and the armed forces to “clarify the circumstances,” police said.
The probe comes days after police said several large drones flew over Copenhagen airport, shutting the facility for hours.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Tuesday described the Copenhagen incident as the “most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure” to date.
“This is part of the development we have recently observed with other drone attacks, airspace violations, and cyberattacks targeting European airports,” Frederiksen said.
This week’s drone incidents follow Denmark announcing it will acquire long-range precision weapons for the first time, citing the need to be able to hit distant targets as Russia would pose a threat “for years to come.”
Moscow’s ambassador to Copenhagen, Vladimir Barbin, had called the statement “pure madness.”
