Denmark has rolled out a temporary ban on all civilian drones flying in its airspace, just in time for a big EU summit. The move comes after mysterious drone sightings popped up near several military sites, raising security alarms.
The ban kicks in on Monday and lasts through Friday, overlapping with Denmark’s turn to host European leaders. As the current holder of the EU’s rotating presidency, Denmark wants to keep things secure during these high-stakes meetings.
Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen explained the tough call in a statement Sunday. “We’re facing a tricky security situation right now,” he said. “We need to give our armed forces and police the best shot at protecting the EU summit.”
The Ministry of Defence confirmed they’ve sent out teams to handle the drone reports, but they’re keeping details under wraps—no word on how many drones, what kind of response, or exact spots.
This isn’t happening in a vacuum. It follows NATO’s recent decision to ramp up its Baltic Sea operations, adding surveillance tools and at least one air-defense frigate. Officials called the drone flyovers over Danish land clear incursions.
Things got real earlier this week when Copenhagen Airport shut down for hours after spotting large drones buzzing overhead. Then, within days, five smaller airports—mix of military and civilian—followed suit with their own temporary closures.
The Danish transport ministry laid out the reason behind the nationwide drone ban. “We’re banning all civilian drone flights in Denmark’s airspace to avoid mixing up enemy drones with legal ones, or the other way around,” their statement read. The goal? Cut down on confusion during this tense time.
Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen chimed in, stressing the urgency. “We can’t let foreign drones stir up uncertainty and chaos in our society, like we’ve seen lately,” he said. With EU leaders arriving next week, security is front and center. Break the rules, and you could face fines or up to two years in prison.
Denmark hosts the EU leaders on Wednesday, then a Thursday summit for the 47-nation European Political Community. That group formed after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, aiming to boost cooperation across Europe.
Danish officials are calling these drone incidents a “hybrid attack”—a sneaky mix of tactics to disrupt without full-on war. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen hasn’t named names directly, but she’s flagged Moscow as Europe’s top security threat. The Kremlin flat-out denies any role.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte echoed that caution recently, saying Russian involvement “can’t be ruled out.” Russia, of course, rejects the accusations.
Adding muscle, a German air-defense frigate docked in Copenhagen on Sunday to help monitor the skies during the summits.
Tensions are boiling over in the region. Last week, Estonia accused Russia of breaching its airspace with three MiG-31 jets. NATO quickly scrambled Italian planes to chase them off—Russia denies it happened.
At the UN on Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov fired back at Western claims. He called them “scaremongering” about a bigger war. “Russia faces accusations of plotting attacks on NATO and EU nations,” Lavrov said. “President Putin has shot down these provocations time and again.”
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