Russian corvette that fired flares at Danish helicopter has prior Baltic encounters

The Russian warship that fired two red signal flares at a Danish military helicopter near Gedser has previously confronted Greenpeace activists and a Danish maritime drone company, DR reports. German police confirmed to NDR that the vessel was the Russian corvette SKR-531 Soobrazitelnyj.

Russia’s Defence Ministry also said the ship was involved in the incident. In a statement on Telegram, it said the corvette’s commander had ordered the flares fired “to prevent provocation by the Danish helicopter”, after which the helicopter left the area.

The vessel is nearly 105 metres long and is equipped with, among other weapons, a cannon and missiles. It belongs to Russia’s Baltic Fleet, which is headquartered in Kaliningrad, and has a crew of about 90.

The ship has previously been described as a frigate, but Johannes Riber, a naval commander and researcher at the University of Copenhagen’s Centre for Military Studies, said it is in fact a corvette, or a small frigate.

“In modern naval terms, it is a relatively small ship,” Riber said. Russia often uses vessels of this class to escort tankers in its so-called shadow fleet, which transports Russian oil subject to sanctions, he said.

“This class of ship is quite well designed for sailing in the Baltic Sea and other coastal areas,” Riber said.

Encounter with Greenpeace activists

Soobrazitelnyj has been observed several times recently in waters close to Denmark. In early July, Greenpeace activists encountered the vessel in the Fehmarn Belt south of Lolland while carrying out an action against Russia’s shadow tanker fleet.

According to the activists, the Russian warship approached them at high speed while they were in rubber boats. The German coastguard called the vessel to ask what it intended to do, but received no response, they said.

“A ship came at very high speed. At first, we did not understand what it was,” Jonas Sjöstedt, a Swedish member of the European Parliament, later told Aftonbladet.

“We know that there can sometimes be armed guards aboard the oil tankers, but deploying the military as well is something new in the Baltic Sea,” he said.

Surprise appearance during Danish drone test

Later in July, TV 2 published video footage of the Russian warship in waters near Bornholm. The footage came from Stormborn, a Danish company that produces military maritime drones.

The company was training with one of its drones near Bornholm when Soobrazitelnyj appeared unexpectedly.

“It was a wild experience. Suddenly it was just there,” Simon Hviid of Stormborn told TV 2.

Part of an operation involving shadow tankers

According to the Danish Defence, crew members aboard the Russian warship fired two signal flares at one of its Fennec helicopters on Monday while the helicopter was photographing the vessel near Gedser. One of the flares came close to hitting the Danish helicopter, the Defence said.

The incident has drawn widespread condemnation. DR reports that Soobrazitelnyj is well known to the Danish Defence, which has frequently encountered the warship without incidents of this kind.

Sources told DR that Russia’s navy has been conducting a large operation for some time in the Baltic Sea, Danish waters, the North Sea and the English Channel. The operation is intended to deter NATO countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Germany and France, from boarding and seizing so-called shadow tankers.

Russia uses the tankers to transport large quantities of Russian oil from terminals in the St Petersburg area to the global market, in defiance of EU sanctions, according to the report. Sources told DR that Soobrazitelnyj is part of the naval operation.

Commander receives Russian award

Russia’s Defence Ministry said the commander of Soobrazitelnyj had received an award for his actions during Monday’s incident.

Riber described the award as “pure signalling” because it was presented just two days after the event.

“It is a very quick award, and it may also underline that this action did not happen out of the blue,” he said. Russia could not have been surprised that the Danish Defence would photograph a foreign vessel passing through the area, he added.

“From the Russian side, it has been agreed that if this situation arises, this is what we do,” Riber said.