Kremlin Denies Role in Drone Flights That Disrupted Airports in Denmark and Norway
The Kremlin on Tuesday rejected allegations that Russia was behind unidentified drones that flew over the capitals of Denmark and Norway the night before, disrupting air traffic and forcing dozens of flights to be diverted or canceled.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told local media she could “not rule out” Russian involvement in the drone activity near Copenhagen Airport. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, writing on X after a meeting with the head of the IMF, directly blamed Russia but offered no evidence.
“Frankly, making unfounded accusations over and over again only leads to such statements no longer being taken seriously,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a daily press briefing.
“Every time, we hear the same baseless claims. A side that claims to take a serious and responsible position should not be making such accusations time after time,” Peskov added.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who said he spoke with Frederiksen by phone, cautioned that it was “too early to say” whether Russia was responsible for the incident.
The unexplained flights over Denmark and Norway come amid a rise in reported Russian drone and aircraft incursions near NATO’s eastern flank. Estonia and Poland both recently accused Moscow of violating their airspace and invoked Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which allows members to consult on threats to their security.
NATO ambassadors were scheduled to meet this week after Estonia said three Russian MiG-31 fighters entered its airspace over the Gulf of Finland last Friday.
Danish intelligence officials said Tuesday the country faced a “high threat of sabotage.”
Flemming Drejer, director of operations at the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, said the drones over Copenhagen may not have been intended to attack but rather to “stress us out and see how we react.”
Danish police said “several large drones” hovered over Copenhagen Airport for more than three hours on Monday evening. They decided not to shoot down the drones for safety reasons, adding that the aircraft eventually flew away.
AFP contributed reporting.
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