Russian warship violated Danish territorial waters in Baltic -Danish military

A Russian warship early on Friday twice violated Danish territorial waters north of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm where a democracy festival attended by senior lawmakers and business people was taking place, the Danish Armed Forces said. Denmark called the action an unaccetable provocation.

A Russian warship early on Friday twice violated Danish territorial waters north of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm where a democracy festival attended by senior lawmakers and business people was taking place, the Danish Armed Forces said.

Denmark called the action an unaccetable provocation. The Russian warship entered Danish waters without authorization at 0030 GMT on Friday and again a few of hours later, the armed forces said in a statement. The warship left after the Danish navy establihed radio contact, it said.

"A deeply irresponsible, gross and completely unacceptable Russian provocation in the middle of #fmdk," Denmark's Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said on Twitter, referring to the Democracy Festival of Denmark. The annual festival is attended by senior government officials, including Kofod and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

"Bullying methods do not work against Denmark," Kofod said. The Russian ambassador had been summoned, he added.

Ukraine's defence minister said last month that Ukraine had started receiving Harpoon missiles from Denmark, deliveries that he said were the result of cooperation between several countries. On Friday, Ukraine said its forces hit a Russian naval tugboat with two Harpoon missiles in the Black Sea, the first time it has claimed to have struck a Russian vessel with Western-supplied anti-ship weapons.

The Russian embassy in Copenhagen did not immediately respond to a requests for comment by email and phone.