(Reuters) – Denmark said on Thursday that drone incursions overnight, which briefly closed two airports and affected military installations, were hybrid attacks aimed at spreading fear, though authorities could not identify the perpetrators.
The incident, the second in two days in Denmark alone, is part of what some European officials see as a pattern of Russian disruption that has exposed the vulnerability of European airspace at a time of high tensions between Moscow and NATO.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she had agreed in a call with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the drone incursions that they should work together to ensure security.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for “effective deterrence” by NATO, adding that the alliance had been right to warn Russia this week that it would use “all necessary military and non-military tools” to defend itself.
Russia’s embassy in Copenhagen on Thursday rejected as “absurd” speculation about Moscow’s involvement in the Danish incursions.
DENMARK MAY INVOKE NATO’S ARTICLE 4, AFTER POLAND, ESTONIA
Poland shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace on September 10. Danish authorities said on Thursday they decided not to take down any of the drones in their airspace for safety reasons, despite the disruption caused to air traffic.
“It certainly does not look like a coincidence. It looks systematic. This is what I would define as a hybrid attack,” Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told a press conference, adding that Denmark faced no direct military threat.
Denmark has not yet decided whether to invoke NATO’s Article 4, which allows members to request consultations over any security concerns, Poulsen said. Poland invoked the article after downing the drones, as did Estonia after Russian military jets violated its airspace for 12 minutes on September 19.
The overnight incursions forced Aalborg airport, used for commercial and military flights, to shut for three hours, while Billund airport, Denmark’s second-largest, was closed for an hour, police said. Both reopened on Thursday morning.
Drones were also seen near Esbjerg and Sonderborg airports, as well as Skrydstrup airbase, home to Denmark’s F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, and over a military facility in Holstebro, police confirmed. They are all located in the western Jutland region.
Civil rescue company Esvagt told Reuters its vessels had observed late on Wednesday what appeared to be drones flying over the North Sea. Local police received a report about drones near North Sea oil fields, state broadcaster DR reported.
“This shows at least that we do not have the capacity at present to prevent the intrusion of drones over our airports,” said Peter Viggo Jakobsen, an associate professor at the Royal Danish Defence College. “This is a hole in our preparedness.”
The incursions come after Denmark this year boosted its military budget to address acute shortcomings. Last week, it announced plans to acquire long-range precision weapons, while its decision to host Ukrainian missile fuel production near the Skrydstrup airbase has drawn criticism from Russia.
Police said the drones followed a similar pattern to those that halted flights at Copenhagen airport overnight into Tuesday.
Danish police said they had increased their presence at the impacted airports and other critical infrastructure.
The head of Denmark’s armed forces, Michael Hyldgaard, acknowledged weaknesses in the country’s ability to counter drone attacks: “We have a wide range of capabilities in the Armed Forces, but we would like to have more.”
Danish opposition lawmaker Pelle Dragsted of the Red-Green Alliance slammed the government’s handling of the incidents, saying on X: “Billions (are being) allocated to defence … But no control over the most basic thing: Defence of our own vulnerable infrastructure.”
DENMARK HAS POINTED FINGER AT RUSSIA
Prime Minister Frederiksen called the Copenhagen incident the most serious “attack” yet on Denmark’s critical infrastructure and linked it to suspected Russian drone activities across Europe, though no evidence was provided.
Authorities in Norway also shut the airspace at Oslo airport for three hours on Monday evening after reports of a drone flying in the area.
Danish analyst Jakobsen also pointed the finger at Moscow.
“So the Russians – if it’s them, and I think it is – are doing what they’ve been really good at for a long time: they’re going right to the edge of what would trigger a military response from NATO, but not over it,” he said.
The drone incursions come as Denmark, current holder of the European Union’s rotating presidency, prepares to host EU leaders in Copenhagen next week.
