Danish PM says ‘cannot rule out’ Russian involvement
Danish PM Frederiksen spoke briefly with reporters this morning.
Asked by DR if the incident could be linked to Russia, she struck a rather cautious tone, but said:
“I cannot rule out that it is Russia. We have seen drones over Poland that should not have been there. We have seen activity in Romania. We have seen violations of Estonian airspace. We have seen hacker attacks on European airports over the weekend.
Now there have been drones in Denmark, and it appears that there have been drones in Oslo and Norway as well.
Therefore, I can only say that, in my view, this is a serious attack on critical Danish infrastructure.”
In comments reported by DR, she added that the intent could have been “to disrupt and create unrest, concern; see how far you can do and test the limits.”
Key events
Nato meeting on Russian incursion into Estonian airspace
Just a reminder that Nato is meeting this morning to discuss the Russian incursion into Estonian airspace last Friday.
We should hear from the alliance’s secretary general Mark Rutte around 11:45 BST (12:45 CEST).
Danish PM says ‘cannot rule out’ Russian involvement
Danish PM Frederiksen spoke briefly with reporters this morning.
Asked by DR if the incident could be linked to Russia, she struck a rather cautious tone, but said:
“I cannot rule out that it is Russia. We have seen drones over Poland that should not have been there. We have seen activity in Romania. We have seen violations of Estonian airspace. We have seen hacker attacks on European airports over the weekend.
Now there have been drones in Denmark, and it appears that there have been drones in Oslo and Norway as well.
Therefore, I can only say that, in my view, this is a serious attack on critical Danish infrastructure.”
In comments reported by DR, she added that the intent could have been “to disrupt and create unrest, concern; see how far you can do and test the limits.”
Danish army involved in investigation into Copenhagen drones
The Danish armed forces are understood to be involved in the investigation into last night’s drone disruption at Copenhagen Airport, Danish broadcaster TV2 reported.
There has been no update on what happened to the drones that disrupted the operations at Copenhagen airport last night.
Danish media earlier questioned whether they came from the land or from the sea, but authorities declined to offer more detail at this stage of the investigation.
But they concluded that the drones were flown by “what we would call a capable operator.”
“It’s an actor who has the capabilities, the will and the tools to show off in this way,” Danish police chief superintendent Jens Jespersen told reporters earlier today.
Danish authorities investigating ‘very serious incident’ at airport, note seriousness of impact on critical infrastructure
Copenhagen police and Danish security and intelligence service, or PET, are now giving a press conference, reported by Danish media, with authorities warning that the reported incident amounted to “a very serious situation.”
Flemming Drejer, PET’s operational director, acknowledges that, given the international context, Denmark faces a hightened level of threat of sabotage. All possible options and links are being looked at, he says.
Anne Tønnes, director at Copenhagen Police, also highlights that the incident amounted to a serious violation of Danish law.
Danish media note that Tønnes repeatedly referenced the incident as “attack,” noting its impact on the country’s critical infrastructure.
This concludes the press conference, but there’s a suggestion this is not the last time we’ve heard from them today.
Morning opening: Drones paralyse Nordic airports
Jakub Krupa
The airports in Copenhagen and Oslo, the two busiest in the Nordic region, were shut for hours last night after drones were observed in their airspace late on Monday, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded as flights were diverted, delayed and cancelled.
The Danish and Norwegian authorities are understood to be in contact in case the two incidents were linked, NRK reported.
Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen told broadcaster TV2 in a written comment that the disruption at Copenhagen was “the most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date.”
“It says something about the times we live in and what we as a society must be prepared to deal with,’ she said, adding the authorities were “not ruling out any options in relation who is behind this.”
She added:
“And it is clear that this fits in with the developments we have seen recently with other drone attacks, airspace violations and hacker attacks on European airports.”
Who could she possibly be thinking of?
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared to believe that Russia was behind the incident, raising it during a meeting with IMF managing director, Kristalina Georgieva.
The official readout on the president’s website said the pair “discussed Russia’s violations of the airspace of Nato member states, including … in Copenhagen.”
“The President emphasised that if there is no resolute response from the allies – both states and institutions – to these provocations, Russia will continue its aggressive actions, testing the societies of European and Nato countries,” it said.
We should hear from the Danish police shortly and get more updates throughout the day.
I will bring you all the key updates here.
It’s Tuesday, 23 September 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
