Ursula von der Leyen denounces Russia's 'irresponsible' behavior after incidents in Denmark and Lithuania

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen denounced Russia's "irresponsible and dangerous" behavior on Tuesday after Denmark complained about flares being fired at one of its helicopters, and a NATO plane had to shoot down a drone in Lithuania.

“Once again Europe found itself faced with the irresponsible and dangerous behavior of Russia,” wrote the President of the European Commission on

“These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a broader pattern of Russian aggression and provocation against Europe, aimed at testing our level of preparedness and our resolve,” she said in a statement published on X. “Russia will see that our resolve will only strengthen,” she added.

“We will not give in”

According to the Danish army, the incident involving one of its helicopters took place Monday evening, off the coast of Gedser (south). She assures that the device, which according to her was carrying out a routine photographic identification mission near a Russian frigate located in international waters, was “targeted” by the warship. The Russian frigate fired “two flares in the direction of the helicopter. One of them passed in the immediate vicinity of the device,” assures the army in its press release.

Denmark denounced an “irresponsible” act. “Russian actions aim to intimidate and sow discord,” criticized Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. “They will not succeed. We will not give in,” she continued, on the social network

« La Russie repousse progressivement les limites »

“This latest incident shows that the communication problems do not come from the Russian navy ships, but from the Danish side,” he insisted. The Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, brushed aside these arguments: monitoring your neighborhood is “completely legal”, he insisted, “it does not give the Russians an alibi to shoot, even with flares”. “Russia is gradually pushing the limits,” he had previously warned.

Denmark, a supporting country for Ukraine, regularly accuses Russia of carrying out hybrid operations on its territory. In September, Danish intelligence services assured that Moscow was “actively preparing sabotage actions” against the country’s defense industry. In Lithuania, on the borders of Russia in the Baltic zone, two NATO fighter planes had to intervene to shoot down a drone of undetermined origin.

“Italian crews intercepted the unmanned aircraft”

The aircraft, which is unknown whether it was armed, was shot down by Italian aircraft protecting the skies of the Baltic countries as part of NATO air policing, the Alliance and Rome said. The deployment of the Alliance in the region is “vital” at a time when “Russia is intensifying its aggression against Ukraine,” wrote Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on

“Italian crews intercepted the unmanned aircraft, neutralizing it in compliance with the operational procedures provided by the Alliance,” the Italian Ministry of Defense confirmed on X. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, former Soviet republics sharing a border with Russia, regularly record drone intrusions on their territory. On May 19, a NATO fighter shot down a Ukrainian drone over Estonia.