NATO to boost Baltic presence after Denmark drone incursions, as Russia warns of 'decisive response'
UNITED NATIONS: NATO said on Saturday (Sep 27) it is upgrading its mission in the Baltic Sea with an air-defence frigate and other assets in response to drone incursions in Denmark.
Unidentified drones were observed near military installations in Denmark overnight, the armed forces said, after several incursions near airports and critical infrastructure this week. Copenhagen Airport, the Nordic region's busiest, was closed for several hours on Monday as large drones entered its airspace. Five smaller Danish airports, both civilian and military, were also temporarily shut.
In response, NATO said it will "conduct even more enhanced vigilance with new multi-domain assets in the Baltic Sea region". The new assets include "intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms and at least one air-defence frigate", the alliance added. A NATO spokesperson declined to specify which countries were contributing the extra assets.
The assets will reinforce NATO's "Baltic Sentry" mission, launched in January after undersea power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines in the Baltic were damaged. Frigates, patrol aircraft and naval drones have been deployed to help protect critical infrastructure.
This month, NATO also began its "Eastern Sentry" mission to bolster Europe's eastern flank in response to Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace.
LAVROV SAYS RUSSIA ACCUSED UNFAIRLY
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the UN General Assembly: "Russia is being accused of almost planning to attack the North Atlantic Alliance and European Union countries. President Putin has repeatedly debunked these provocations."
Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister for more than two decades, said Moscow was alarmed by remarks from some politicians in EU and NATO capitals that World War Three was a "likely scenario".
"These figures are undermining any efforts to find a fair balance of interests among all of the members of the international community by trying to impose their unilateral approaches on everyone else," he said.
Earlier on Saturday, Lavrov warned that "any aggression against my country will be met with a decisive response".
TRUMP BACKS SHOOTING DOWN RUSSIAN JETS
US President Donald Trump this week said he endorsed the idea of shooting down Russian jets that violate NATO airspace, mocking Russia's military performance in Ukraine and calling it a paper tiger.
The United States also told the UN Security Council it would "defend every inch of NATO territory".
Estonia said on Friday that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated its airspace for 12 minutes before being escorted out by NATO Italian jets. Moscow has denied the violation and said its drones had not planned to hit targets in Poland.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt on Saturday described the drone threat as "high" and said Berlin would take measures to defend itself.
Lavrov met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly.
