Denmark and Sweden summon Russia’s ambassadors after Russian spy plane violates air space

‘Totally unacceptable and particularly worrying in the current situation’

Swedish prime minister Magdalena Andersson (Paul Wennerholm/TT)

Denmark and Sweden have summoned Russia’s envoys after a Russian spy plane allegedly violated their airspace.

Both Denmark and Sweden authorities reported that a Russian plane entered Danish airspace on Friday evening — east of the Danish Baltic island of Bornholm — and then entered the Swedish airspace.

“The Russian ambassador is summoned to the foreign ministry tomorrow,” Danish foreign minister Jeppe Kofod tweeted on Sunday. The Swedish foreign ministry also said the Russian ambassador would be summoned to Stockholm.

“There exist established procedures for this kind of case. It concerns notably summoning the representative of the implicated nation to the foreign ministry,” a spokesperson said.

Mr Kofod of Denmark said it was “totally unacceptable and particularly worrying in the current situation,” referring to Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.

News agencies reported that Henrik Mortensen, a Danish Defence Command press officer, said on Sunday that “it was a reconnaissance plane that was in our airspace for a very brief moment. Two Danish F-16 immediately intervened.”

Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist told local media that such action was “unprofessional” and “inappropriate” given the tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The Swedish defence ministry said in a statement that the incursion by the “Russian AN-30 propeller plane” was “monitored and recorded.”

It is important to note that in March this year, four Russian fighter jets had penetrated the airspace over Sweden.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, several Nordic countries like Sweden and Finland have been considering joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato). The two countries are expected to announce their decision to join the Western military alliance sometime in mid-May, it was reported.

Denmark is already a member of Nato.

Russia, meanwhile, has been repeatedly warning the two European Union nations against joining the Nato.

Sweden’s prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, in fact, told party members on 1 May that joining Nato would give the country “a special responsibility” for security in the Baltic Sea. She said: “If Sweden is attacked then we have better opportunities to get support from other countries, but you also give security guarantees.”