Denmark bans civilian drones ahead of EU summit after security alerts

Denmark has imposed a temporary ban on civilian drones across its airspace ahead of a European Union summit following reported sightings of drones near multiple military sites Al Jazeera reportedThe restriction will remain in effect from Monday through Friday coinciding with Denmarks hosting of European leaders as part of its rotating presidency of the EUWe are currently in a difficult security situation and we must ensure the best possible working conditions for the armed forces and the police when they are responsible for security during the EU summit Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said in a statement on SundayAccording to Al Jazeera the Ministry of Defence confirmed that several capacities had been deployed after the drone sightings but declined to specify the type of deployment the number of drones involved or the exact locationsThe latest incident followed NATOs announcement that it would bolster its Baltic Sea mission with additional surveillance assets and at least one airdefence frigate The move came after what officials described as drone incursions over Danish territoryCopenhagen Airport had already been closed earlier this week for several hours after large drones were spotted overhead Within days five smaller Danish airports both military and civilian were also temporarily shut down Al Jazeera reportedThe Danish transportation ministry explained the rationale behind the broad ban All civilian drone flying in Danish airspace will be prohibited to remove the risk that enemy drones can be confused with legal drones and vice versa the statement saidTransport Minister Thomas Danielsen added We cannot accept that foreign drones create uncertainty and disturbances in society as we have experienced recently At the same time Denmark will host EU leaders in the coming week where we will have extra focus on security He also warned that violating the prohibition could result in a fine or imprisonment of up to two yearsDenmark is set to host EU leaders on Wednesday followed by a summit on Thursday of the 47member European Political Community established in response to Russias 2022 invasion of Ukraine to foster wider European cooperationDanish leaders have described the recent drone activity as part of a hybrid attack While stopping short of naming a culprit Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has pointed to Moscow as the primary country that poses a threat to European security The Kremlin has denied responsibilityAl Jazeera noted that NATO SecretaryGeneral Mark Rutte recently said Russian involvement could not be ruled out though Russia has rejected the chargeA German air defence frigate arrived in Copenhagen on Sunday to reinforce airspace monitoring during the upcoming summitsThe incidents come amid heightened regional tensions with Estonia accusing Russia last week of violating its airspace with three MiG31 fighter jets before NATO scrambled Italian aircraft to escort them out Russia has denied the claimAt the United Nations on Saturday Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticised Western allegations as scaremongering about the threat of a wider war Russia is being accused of almost planning to attack NATO and EU countries President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly debunked these provocations Lavrov saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever