Unidentified drones were once again sighted over Denmark near military airbases on Thursday night, coinciding with the presence of a Russian landing ship in waters off the Scandinavian nation with its location responder deactivated.
The disruption to airport operations began on Monday night when multiple unidentified drones caused the closure of airspace over Copenhagen Airport, sparking concerns about potential Russian involvement. The disturbances persisted throughout the week, with reports on Thursday indicating that Hungarian NATO fighters intercepted five Russian fighter jets over the Baltic Sea close to Latvia, escalating tensions.
These incidents occurred amid increasing unease in Europe following a series of Russian drone intrusions in Poland and Romania earlier in the month, as well as reports of Russian fighter jets allegedly violating Lithuanian airspace the previous week.
According to Sean Maloney, a Russian military strategy expert at the Royal Military College, the heightened Russian activity aims to portray NATO as ineffective, with a focus on Denmark to divert attention from other regions like Moldova or Ukraine. Moldova’s president, Maia Sandu, recently warned of threats to the country’s independence ahead of parliamentary elections, with arrests made in connection to an alleged Russian-backed plot to incite unrest.
France conducted its annual nuclear-deterrence exercise, Operation Poker, over western regions on Tuesday and Wednesday, while American B-2 Spirit stealth bombers participated in the U.S. Strategic Command’s Exercise Skymaster. Meanwhile, Canada held parliamentary hearings to address the Russian drone incursions, with NATO launching Operation Eastern Sentry to enhance air defenses in Eastern Europe.
Ty Curran from Canada’s Department of National Defence discussed potential contributions to NATO’s operation, emphasizing collaboration with allies and ongoing monitoring of airspace integrity. Despite no reported airspace breaches in Canada, NORAD detected Russian aircraft in the Alaskan air defense zone, underscoring concerns about NATO’s deterrence capabilities against Russian provocations in European airspace.
