A RUSSIAN warship has opened fire on a German army chopper over the Baltic sea, a German foreign minister has confirmed.
It is understood the crew of Putin’s ship fired warning shots at a helicopter conducting a reconnaissance mission.
A Putin warship has opened fire on a German chopper over the Baltic seaGetty
While signal ammunition is intended for warnings rather than attacks, this incident highlights the growing proximity between NATO and Russia, bringing them closer to a direct clash.
The helicopter was deployed due to increased patrols in the Baltic Sea.
Signal ammunition is also typically used only in emergency situations.
A German defence ministry spokesperson could not confirm Wednesday’s reports about an incident between a German army helicopter and a Russian ship in the Baltic Sea.
But German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock reportedly mentioned the incident on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels, but did not provide any further details, according to German outlet Bild.
On social media platform X, Baerbock said following the press reports that Russia was expanding its hybrid attacks in the Baltic Sea area and that NATO would bolster its monitoring and protection of critical infrastructure as a result.
“Putin is attacking our peace order with hybrid attacks,” she wrote.
Baerbock highlighted that ships continue to sail through the Baltic Sea attempting to bypass sanctions imposed on Russia following Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
The German foreign minister also announced that monitoring of pipelines and data cables in the region would be intensified.
The protection of critical infrastructure through patrols should be expanded, she said.
This is in response to recurring Russian attacks on this critical infrastructure, including the destruction of cables and disruptions to GPS systems.
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