The drone incursion that stopped flights at Copenhagen airport on Monday night was labeled the most severe attack on Danish infrastructure so far by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Kastrup airport in Copenhagen was forced to close for several hours starting around 20:30 local time due to the sighting of drones. Frederiksen noted, It says something about the times we live in and what we as a society must be prepared to deal with. She highlighted that Russian involvement in the events could not yet be dismissed, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the allegation as unfounded.
Frederiksen drew parallels between the drone incidents in Denmark and similar incursions involving Russia in Poland and Romania, as well as unauthorized airspace violations involving Russian jets over Estonia. She articulated that the motive behind the Copenhagen drone incursion likely had been to disrupt, create unrest... to see how far you can go and test the limits. Danish intelligence agreed, stating the country faced a high threat of sabotage.
The drone activity resulted in the closure affecting approximately 20,000 passengers until services resumed post-midnight. Danish police have not confirmed the perpetrators but indicated that evidence suggests a capable actor was involved. Nearby Oslo airport also temporarily closed due to potential drone sightings, with reports highlighting Russia's previous violations of Norwegian airspace in the past year.
These developments occur against a backdrop of increasing tensions and provocative behavior by Russian aircraft and drones in central and eastern Europe since the onset of the Ukraine war, prompting NATO to bolster forces in response.
