Drones have been sighted near military facilities, including Denmark's largest, the Karup airbase, following a series of incidents that prompted air disruptions earlier this week. The presence of the drones forced a temporary closure of airspace to commercial flights, raising alarms about the nation's security and potential foreign intervention.
Authorities reported that the drones were detected above Karup airbase, among other installations, and confirmed possible sightings in neighboring countries like Germany, Norway, and Lithuania. These incursions have heightened concerns about Denmark's vulnerability to aerial threats and have sparked fears of potential Russian involvement.
Danish officials referred to the incidents as a hybrid attack, although they have cautioned that no evidence currently links the activity to Moscow.
The incidents on Friday evening lasted several hours, according to duty officer Simon Skelsjaer, who indicated that police were cooperating with military authorities in the investigation. While civil airspace was closed temporarily, the closure did not affect commercial traffic due to the lack of scheduled flights at the time.
The Defence Ministry has confirmed reports of drones near several military installations but has refrained from elaborating on which ones. The remaining installations have not been publicly identified.
These drone incursions come on the heels of drone sightings causing disruptions at various Danish airports, including Copenhagen, Aalborg, and Billund, with some operations transiently shut down due to aerial activity.
After the sightings in Copenhagen, Denmark's Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, noted that Russian involvement could not be overlooked. However, the Russian embassy dismissed any allegations of involvement, calling them absurd speculations. Furthermore, the Danish Defence Minister indicated that the attacks were likely executed by a professional actor but appeared to be locally orchestrated.
As Europe remains on high alert for potential Russian aggressions, the recent drone activity follows a pattern of sightings across other NATO member states, including incursions in the airspace of Poland and Estonia.
