The Sun, by Sayan Bose: It comes just days after Copenhagen Airport – the busiest hub in the Nordic region – was plunged into chaos amid claims Moscow is behind a string of sabotage across Europe.
Drone activity was spotted overnight Wednesday into Thursday near Aalborg Airport in northern Denmark, forcing it to be closed for hours.
Flights were halted for several hours at the airport, which also serves as a military base.
The airports in Esbjerg, Snderborg and Skrydstrup were also impacted, police said.
Authorities said they were unable to neutralise the drones but added there was no threat to the public.
Aalborg sits in northern Denmark’s Jutland region and ranks as the country’s fourth-biggest city by population.
Danish authorities said they have reached out to Nato about the string of drone incursions – and may initiate Article 4 of the alliance.
Nato’s Article 4 triggers a serious discussion with member countries on security matters.
It is usually initiated if any member country believes that its own or another country’s territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened.
The article was last used in 2022 at the request of European members after Russia invaded Ukraine.
It is different from Nato’s Article 5 – a joint defence clause between the member states which says that “an armed attack against one…shall be considered an attack against them all”.
In a news conference this morning, Peter Hummelgaard, Denmark’s justice minister, said the country was facing “hybrid threats” which are “here to stay”.
He said authorities are working around the clock to find out who launched the drones and why they were sent out.
When asked about Russian involvement, Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen today said there is no evidence yet that Russia is behind the drone incursions.
He said that the drones were launched “locally” by a “professional actor” – though he added that this different from previous incidents.
The defence chief said: “There can be no doubt that everything points to this being the work of a professional actor when we are talking about such a systematic operation in so many locations at virtually the same time.
“This is what I would define as a hybrid attack using different types of drones.”
It is worth noting that Nato on its website says that Russia is “known to use sophisticated hybrid strategies, including political interference, malicious cyber activities, economic pressure and coercion, subversion, aggression and annexation”.
The drone sightings came just 48 hours after Copenhagen Airport was shut down for four hours when two or three unidentified drones swooped dangerously close to the runways.
Denmark’s intelligence agency said the country faces “high threat of sabotage” after the drone sightings.
Ukrainian President Zelensky claimed Moscow was behind it, referencing “Russia’s violation” of Nato airspace in Copenhagen in a social media post.
Security concerns in Europe are at a heightened state following an increase in Russian sabotage activities and multiple drone and fighter jet incursions into Nato airspace in recent weeks.
Experts warned that the disruption is part of a much bigger problem hitting Europe’s airports.
Defence and security analyst Colonel Simon Diggins said the drone incursions are part of a “wider Russian plan to destabilise and push Europe’s defences”.
He told The Sun: “Whether it be cyber attacks or flying drones over an airport, it creates an atmosphere of distrust, subversion, and sabotage very quickly and very rapidly.
“This is exactly what is going on at the moment. Russia is testing our defences, testing our resilience, testing our infrastructure to see where our points of weakness are.”
Over the weekend, terminals battled crippling cyber attacks that forced check-in systems offline and left passengers stranded.
Heathrow, Brussels and Berlin airports were all thrown into turmoil, with airlines forced to fall back on paper-based workarounds to get travellers boarded.
The EU’s cybersecurity agency confirmed malicious software was used to lock airport systems, saying: “The type of ransomware has been identified. Law enforcement is involved to investigate.”
Ransomware is a weapon of choice for criminals — infecting key systems before demanding bitcoin payments to undo the damage.
But intelligence experts believe this latest wave of chaos bears all the hallmarks of a state-backed hit job.
Security and politics expert Anthony Glees told The Sun: “Without doubt, the Russians are behind these attacks on airports in London, Berlin and Brussels.
“No one can doubt that Putin’s strategic planners are the beneficiaries here because they have been able to demonstrate they can attack our cyberspace with impunity and at will.”
Russians risking WW3
It all comes after three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonia’s airspace “without clearance” last week – triggering an emergency Nato meeting.
The fighter jets reportedly flew over Vaindloo Island and stayed there for nearly 12 minutes.
Shortly afterwards, Polish authorities reported a “low flyover” of Russian military planes near an oil and gas platform.
Donald Trump responded to the reckless violation and said the incursion could cause “big trouble”.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said he was “going to have a look” at the reports, adding: “I don’t love it”.
MiG-31s are capable of carrying terrifying Kinzhal hypersonic missiles which can be fitted with nuclear warheads.
Incursions like this have happened before, but they rarely last this long.
While in Estonian airspace, the jets circled in the sky as though waiting for a response.
All three planes’ transponders were turned off at the time, according to reports.
Nato allies scrambled Italian F-35s to repel the Russian jets.
Two weeks ago, Polish authorities said they detected 19 violations of their airspace.
It prompted a dramatic million-dollar response as fighter jets were scrambled and Patriot air defence systems placed on alert.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the incident brought Poland closer to military conflict “than at any time since the Second World War”.
Up to four drones were shot down with the help of Nato allies.
It marked the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 that Nato has directly engaged with Vlad’s forces.
And it was followed by a Russian drone overflying Romania for 50 minutes on Saturday.
Prophetic Link:
“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” Matthew 24:6, 7
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