Drones over Danish airport ground flights, spark fears of Russian intrusion – National
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Drones spotted flying in Danish airspace over Copenhagen Airport on Monday night prompted the grounding of flights and a total closure of the airport, as concerns swirled that Russia could be behind the flyover.
Police stated that there was no indication that the operators of two to three drones intended to cause harm to anyone, and that the drones disappeared after several hours, according to the Associated Press.
Nonetheless, the incident caused a major disruption to air traffic flying in and out of Scandinavia’s largest airport.
Danish police and Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) are present at DSB on Kystvejen by Copenhagen Airport, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, after drones flew over Copenhagen Airport on Monday evening and the airspace was closed for four hours.
(Steven Knap/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said during a press conference in Brussels on Tuesday that she considered the presence of the drones “a serious attack against critical infrastructure in Denmark.”
Though it has not been confirmed that Russia was responsible for the flyover, NATO’s Secretary-General, Mark Rutte, said the security alliance would stand firm with its allies in the event of a Russian incursion.
“Our shared commitment to collective defence is unshakeable. We do not want to see a continuation of this dangerous pattern by Russia, intentional or not. But we stand ready and willing to continue to defend every inch of allied territory,” he told reporters in Brussels.
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Denmark — already on edge because of its proximity to Russia and recent incursions of Russian drones as well as military aircraft in Finland and Estonia — will join a group of front-line countries Friday to discuss the European Union’s plans for a “drone wall.”
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov brushed off suggestions that Russia could be involved in the flyover.
“Every time we hear unfounded accusations,” he said in a call Tuesday with reporters, adding that “a party that takes a serious and responsible position mustn’t make such unfounded accusations again and again.”
Andres Kasekamp, professor of history at the University of Toronto, told Global News that the appearance of drones above Danish airspace is “following a very clear pattern of escalation” from Russia.
“It follows the drones that have gone out to Poland, have gone into Romania, the fighter jets in Estonian Airspace,” he continued, referring to a flurry of Russian MiG-31 jets that had crossed into its airspace for 12 minutes on Friday.
On Monday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters, “I want to be very clear. We will make a decision to shoot down flying objects without discussion when they violate our territory and fly over Poland. There is no room for debate here.”
Also on Monday, officials opted not to shoot down the drones over Copenhagen because the risk was too significant, given the airport’s business, the planes on the runways, and nearby fuel depots, Jes Jespersen, a senior police inspector with the Copenhagen Police, told reporters during a news conference, the AP reported.
Jespersen said the drone operators seemed intent on showing off their skills and possibly practicing their flying techniques.
The drones’ lights reportedly turned on and off and appeared to engage in different flight patterns.
“It all indicates that you are not out to attack anyone, but you are out to show off and maybe to practice,” Jepersen said of the drone operators.
Kasekamp warned that Russia is unlikely to halt its own drone and aircraft incursions unless it faces forceful retaliation.
“Until Russia is met with not just statements of concern, but with actual actions against it or punishment, or punishment in the form of immediately increasing arms supplies to Ukraine, then it’s not going to take any Western threats seriously,” he said.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump, who has previously suggested that Ukraine should make territorial concessions to secure peace with Russia, said he believes Ukraine can win back all the territory it has lost to it during the conflict, marking a dramatic shift in his stance.
Trump stated his new position on the war he has struggled to end, despite vowing to do so, in a social media post soon after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
“After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
— with files from the Associated Press and Global News’ Sean Boynton.
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