The authorities in Denmark said unidentified drones were spotted at several airports overnight, including one used by the military, in what government officials called an effort to sow fear in the country.
Aalborg Airport, which is used for commercial and military aircraft, was closed for several hours overnight, regional police said in a statement, and Billund Airport, Denmark’s second largest, was briefly closed after unverified reports of drone activity.
Drones were also spotted near two airports in the south of the country, and an air base that hosts some of Denmark’s fighter jets, the police said.
It was not clear where the drones originated or who was operating them. But the episodes come at a time of high alert in Europe, after Russian aircraft entered the airspace of Poland, Estonia and Romania in recent weeks.
Earlier this week, drone sightings forced the closure of Copenhagen airport, the country’s biggest. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark described it as the “most serious attack so far” on the country’s critical infrastructure and did not rule out Russian involvement.
At a news conference in Brussels on Tuesday, Mark Rutte, NATO’s secretary general, said that it was too early to say who was behind the incursions. The Kremlin dismissed the suggestions that Russia may have been involved in the drone incident at Copenhagen Airport.
On Thursday, the country’s defense minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, said he did not “exclude” Russian involvement in the latest episodes at a news conference with the justice minister on Thursday.
Mr. Poulsen said that the attacks did not present an immediate military threat, but showed Denmark’s vulnerability to hybrid warfare and acts of infrastructure sabotage. He added that a “professional actor” was involved in the latest episode. “It was a systematic operation, with systematic navigation across several locations simultaneously,” he said.
Peter Hummelgaard, the justice minister added: “The aim of these are to create fear, division and make us feel afraid.”
Mr. Poulsen said that the Danish government was in contact with its NATO allies and was considering invoking Article 4 of the alliance’s treaty, which is used when a member state moves to start a formal discussion about a threat to their national security. Poland did so after more than 20 Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace on Sept. 9 and 10.
Police said they were working with the Danish Security and Intelligence Service and the armed forces to investigate the incident.
The presence of drones at or near airports has become an increasingly prominent threat in recent years. In December 2018, drones hovering over a runway at Gatwick Airport, near London, disrupted hundreds of flights. The next month, all flights bound for Newark Liberty International Airport were stopped after pilots reported seeing a drone flying nearby.
Lynsey Chutel is a Times reporter based in London who covers breaking news in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
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