Russia seeks to paralyze air traffic in Europe with drones - CCD head
The goal of the Russian Federation is to paralyze the air traffic of individual European countries with its drones, and if they do not respond, these attempts will be increased, Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine head Andriy Kovalenko has said.
“The goal of the Russians is to paralyze the air traffic of individual European countries with their drones. If they do not respond, they will try to increase them,” he wrote said Telegram on Friday. Kovalenko noted that against the background of these events “they want to make the opinion more popular among the European population that supporting Ukraine is harmful, and also add points to politicians in Europe who are focused on restoring cooperation with the Russian Federation.”
“In fact, it is an illusion that ignoring will help. Because Russia’s goal is a dependent Europe, the return of the zone of influence of the times of the USSR. Behind the back of the Russian Federation is China, interested in a “Chinese Europe” oriented towards Beijing. Accordingly, for Europe there is no alternative to the fight and symmetrical actions against Russia. It is a matter of time,” he stressed.
As reported, in the last week, airports in Denmark (in Copenhagen and Aalborg) were closed twice due to drones spotted in the sky. Aalborg Airport in northern Denmark was closed on the night of September 24-25 due to drones in its airspace.
On the evening of September 22, Danish and Norwegian police reported incidents with drones in Copenhagen and Oslo. In Copenhagen, traffic at the largest airport, Kastrup, was completely stopped due to 2-3 large drones. At least 35 flights were redirected to other airports. Passenger planes circled in the air, and one made an emergency landing due to lack of fuel. The airport resumed operations at around 01:00 after a four-hour closure.
In Norway, drones were recorded over the Akershus Fortress military facility in Oslo, after which police detained two Singapore citizens. Oslo Gardermoen Airport was also completely closed after several attempts to control traffic as drones reappeared in the air. Malmö, Sweden, also saw drones in its airspace on September 22, while Denmark closed its airspace due to drones.