Danish authorities have said drones were seen at several military sites overnight and announced that all civilian use of the unmanned aircraft will be banned this week, as Copenhagen prepares to host two European summits.
The Danish defence ministry said on Sunday it had observed drones at several of its armed forces locations on Saturday night, without giving further details. The transport ministry said all civilian use of drones would be banned to ensure security while Denmark hosts an EU summit and a meeting of the European Political Community, a wider gathering of leaders from across the continent.
It said the move would “remove the risk that enemy drones can be confused with legal drones and vice versa”, and it said any violation of the ban could result in a fine or two years’ imprisonment.
There has been a spate of drone incursions in recent weeks in Denmark, Poland and Romania, as well as the violation of Estonian airspace by Russian fighter jets, while Russia continues its deadly bombardment of Ukraine.
On Sunday a German air defence frigate, FSG Hamburg, arrived in Copenhagen to contribute to “strengthening Denmark’s airspace surveillance” during the summits, Danish armed forces said.
The frigate is part of Nato’s “Baltic Sentry” mission, which the alliance said this weekend it intended to strengthen. A Nato spokesperson said there would be “even more enhanced vigilance” in the Baltic Sea region, including Denmark.
Baltic Sentry – deployments of Nato frigates, aircraft and drones to protect infrastructure – was launched in January after a series of incidents in which power cables, telecoms links and gas pipelines on the Baltic Sea floor were damaged.
Nato launched “Eastern Sentry” earlier this month to bolster the defence of Europe’s eastern flank in response to Russian drone incursions of Polish airspace.
Writing on X on Sunday, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he had spoken to Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, about the “increasing incidents with Russian drones over Europe”, adding: “The unity of Europeans will definitely provide an answer to this threat.”
Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities overnight in a 12-hour bombardment that killed at least four people.
Russia has denied deliberate targeting of Nato countries with drones. The Kremlin accused Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, of “unfounded allegations” last week after she said authorities were still investigating who was behind a drone incursion that shut Copenhagen airport for several hours but could not rule out Russia.
Drone incursions have also affected Norway, with Støre accusing Russia of violating Norway’s airspace three times over spring and summer.
After a two-day meeting of Nato military chiefs in Riga, the chair of Nato’s military committee, Adm Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, said on Saturday: “Every threat to Nato’s air, land and sea space will be dealt with a resolute and proportionate response.”
Asked whether Nato’s air policing mission in the Baltic could be upgraded to air defence, Cavo Dragone stressed that the origin of the drones was still being investigated but “this could be an option, depending on what will be the final assessment”.
