Russian Warship Enters Danish Territorial Waters

A Russian warship has violated Danish territorial waters twice in the space of a few hours, with the violation taking place close to a democracy festival attended by senior lawmakers and business people. Denmark has called the action an unacceptable provocation and summoned the Russian ambassador for an explanation.

The warship entered Danish waters without authorization at 01:30 local time on Friday and then again a few hours later, the armed forces said in a statement. The warship left Danish waters promptly following radio contact from the navy.

“A deeply irresponsible, gross and completely unacceptable Russian provocation in the middle of #fmdk,” Denmark’s foreign minister, Jeppe Kofod, posted on Twitter.

“Bullying methods do not work against Denmark,” he added.

Kofod had attended the annual democracy festival on the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm, along with other senior politicians including prime minister Mette Frederiksen.

Danish defense minister Morten Bødskov told reporters that despite the violation there had been no immediate threat against the festival or its attendees. The minister also noted that this was not the first time Russia had violated Danish territory.

“We must accept that the Baltic Sea is becoming a high-tension area,” he said.