The Danish government has decided to immediately allocate Ukraine a new aid package worth about $276 million to bolster air defence.
The country decided to speed up these deliveries in response to a dangerous incident in international waters, Reuters reports.
The move was prompted by an attack by a Russian frigate, which without warning fired signal flares towards a Danish military helicopter while it was conducting aerial photography. The crew narrowly avoided being hit, while Moscow accused the Danish pilots of “dangerous manoeuvres”.
Danish Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus stressed that if Russia hopes to intimidate the country, the result will only be a faster expansion of defence support for Ukraine. Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen confirmed that no attempts at pressure will make Denmark reduce the volume of assistance to the Ukrainian armed forces.
- In recent days, a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea fired signal flares in the direction of a Danish military helicopter. One of them passed at a dangerously close distance from the aircraft.
- Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the event “very serious”, while noting that, unfortunately, it did not come as a surprise. In her words, the incident fits a trend being observed in Europe: Russia is becoming increasingly aggressive and assertive, stepping up its hybrid war against Europe, and also testing and challenging NATO.