A routine patrol over the Baltic turned dangerous, adding to a run of close encounters between Russian forces and NATO members this year.
A Russian warship has fired two emergency flares at a helicopter in the Baltic Sea, with the Russian ambassador summoned over the incident, Danish officials reported.
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"One of the air force's Fennec helicopters was today fired at with flares during a routine photographic operation of a Russian frigate, which was located in international waters off Gedser," Danish armed forces said in a statement.
The frigate had fired "two flares towards the helicopter. One of the flares passed at close range to the helicopter."
Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Tuesday that the incident was "completely unacceptable."
"Russia's ambassador has therefore been summoned for a discussion about the incident," the ministry said in a statement.
The news coincides with Lithuania's foreign minister confirming an allied fighter jet destroyed a drone that crossed into the country's airspace from Belarus on Tuesday.
Our journalists are working on this story and will update it as soon as more information becomes available.