The corvette "Savvy" fired flares towards the Danish helicopter
On September 14, the Russian corvette "Savvy" fired two flares at a military helicopter of the Danish Air Force in the Baltic Sea. The incident occurred in international waters near the Danish Gedser.
Copenhagen said that one of the missiles passed in the immediate vicinity of the helicopter, after which it summoned the Russian ambassador. Moscow, in turn, accused the Danish military of dangerously approaching the Russian ship. What is known about the incident and how the parties reacted to it is in the "Izvestia" material.
What happened in the Baltic Sea
On the evening of September 14, the Danish Armed Forces reported an incident with one of their helicopters. According to the Danish command, the aircraft was carrying out a routine photographing of a Russian warship that was in international waters off Gedser in southern Denmark. The Russian ship fired two flares in the direction of the helicopter, one of which passed at a short distance from it.
According to Danish Defense Minister Jeppe Bruus, prior to the missile launch, the Russian side had not transmitted warnings or radioed the helicopter crew. He stated that the missiles passed within a few meters of the helicopter..
What the Russian Defense Ministry said
On September 16, the Russian Defense Ministry revealed that the corvette "Savvy" was carrying out tasks in the neutral waters of the southwestern Baltic Sea. The crew found a Danish Air Force Fennec helicopter, which, according to the Russian side, was moving towards the ship and was not responding to calls via an international communication channel.
"In order to prevent the provocation of the Danish helicopter, the corvette commander decided to fire two red warning light flares, after which the helicopter left the area of the Russian warship," the Defense Ministry said.
" " After the incident, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov awarded the commander of the "Savvy" medal "For military distinction." The Russian military called his actions "skillful and decisive" and stated that they had prevented a provocation by the Danish helicopter.
How Denmark reacted
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen called the incident "unacceptable" and said the incident could have allegedly endangered human lives. After that, the country's Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador Vladimir Barbin for an explanation. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also called the incident serious.
Defense Minister Jeppe Bruus said that Denmark did not initiate consultations with NATO because of the incident, because, according to the minister, this would require a more direct incident against Danish territory.
What did Russia say?
Russian Ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin rejected the Danish interpretation of the incident. He said that the actions of the Danish military helicopter were provocative, and accused the Fennec crew of dangerous maneuvers near the Russian ship.
The Russian diplomat handed over a note to the Danish side, in which he demanded that measures be taken to prevent similar situations in the future. Barbin also said that the Russian side intends to look into the circumstances of the incident.
Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on September 15 that he had no detailed information about the incident and therefore could not comment on it.
What is known about the corvette "Savvy"
"Savvy" is a multi—purpose corvette of Project 20380, which is part of the Russian Baltic Fleet. She became the first production ship of this project after the lead corvette "Stereguschy". The ship was built by the St. Petersburg "Northern Shipyard" and handed over to the Baltic Fleet on October 14, 2011.
The corvettes of project 20380 are designed for operations in the near sea area. They are equipped with artillery, anti-ship, anti-submarine and anti-aircraft weapons, radar and sonar systems. The Ka-27PL anti-submarine helicopter can be based on the ship. During the construction of the project's ships, elements of radar visibility reduction technology are used.
