Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that Europe must arm itself to respond to Russia’s hybrid warfare.
“I hope that everybody recognises now that there is a hybrid war and one day it’s Poland, the other day it’s Denmark, and next week it will probably be somewhere else that we see sabotage or we see drones flying,” Frederiksen told reporters on Wednesday.
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She was hosting a summit of European leaders as they discussed joint efforts for better deterrence and defence.
French President Emmanuel Macron was also on hand and urged the European Union to proceed with caution in its current confrontation with Russia.
“I think we all have to be very cautious because we are in a time of confrontation with a lot of hybridity,” Macron said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the summit in Copenhagen.
“This is why we have to be strong to deter any aggressions, but we have to remain very cautious and avoid any escalation,” he added.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also warned against overreacting.
“Despite everything, I think we have to think calmly. I think we shouldn’t respond to provocations. We have to equip ourselves, that certainly is true,” she said.
Hybrid warfare involves the use of conventional methods, such as tanks and missiles, as well as nonconventional ones, such as cyberattacks and internet disinformation.
Russia has been “a very aggressive player” for several years, the French president said, citing cyberattacks during elections, its war against Ukraine, the use of nuclear threats and recent airspace violations.
The heads of state and prime ministers of the EU countries were meeting in Denmark’s capital following a series of drone incidents near the country’s airports and military bases over the last week.
Before the meeting, a special radar system was set up at Copenhagen airport to help keep watch. Unidentified drones forced the closure of the airfield a week ago, causing major disruptions.
France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK also sent aircraft, ships and air defence systems to Denmark in advance of the talks.
While the Danish authorities have not identified those believed to be responsible, Frederiksen said, “There is only one country that is willing to threaten us, and it is Russia, and therefore we need a very strong answer back.”
The Danish prime minister appealed for rearmament in the face of growing threats.
“I want us to rearm. I want us to buy more capabilities. I want us to innovate more, for example, on drones,” she said. “When I look at Europe today, I think we are in the most difficult and dangerous situation since the end of the second world war.”
Airspace violations
Serious airspace violations have been recorded in Europe over the last month, but not all nations in the bloc agree on how to respond.
After Russia was blamed for drone incursions into NATO members Poland and Romania, Macron last week said the alliance’s response would have to “go up a notch” in the case of “new provocations” from Moscow.
Macron did not rule out downing a Russian fighter jet if it were to breach European airspace.
“In accordance with the doctrine of strategic ambiguity, I can tell you that nothing is ruled out,” he said in an interview with German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Last month, Poland said it had shot down Russian drones that violated its airspace as Moscow launched a barrage against Ukraine, while Romania’s defence ministry said the country’s airspace had been breached by a drone during a Russian attack on infrastructure in neighbouring Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Macron also alleged that an oil tanker off the French coast had committed “very serious wrongdoings” and linked it to Russia’s shadow fleet, which is avoiding Western sanctions over Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The tanker was sailing off the coast of Denmark last week and was cited by European naval experts as possibly being involved in drone flights over the Nordic country.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leaders and intelligence services believed that Russia could mount an assault elsewhere in Europe in three to five years, and that President Vladimir Putin is intent on testing NATO amid doubts about US President Donald Trump’s commitment to the organisation.
Other defence experts, however, question the readiness of Russia’s military for another large-scale war.
