Russian ship crew fires signal ammunition during Bundeswehr operation

There was an incident in the Baltic Sea between a German army helicopter and a Russian ship. The crew of the Russian ship fired signal ammunition. The helicopter was on a reconnaissance mission.

Tensions between Russia and the Western states are escalating in the Baltic Sea region. During a mission by a German army helicopter, shots were fired from a Russian ship. Foreign Minister Baerbock announces more patrols to protect critical infrastructure.

There was an incident in the Baltic Sea between a German army helicopter and a Russian ship. The crew of the Russian ship fired signal ammunition, the dpa news agency in Brussels learned. The helicopter was on a reconnaissance mission.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) had previously briefly mentioned the incident on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels. However, she did not provide any details. It is not yet known when this incident occurred.

The use of signal ammunition is actually only common in emergency situations. Baerbock had pointed out that ships are repeatedly sailing in the Baltic Sea that are involved in circumventing sanctions because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

Baerbock announces more patrols

The Green politician also announced that the monitoring of pipelines and data cables in the Baltic Sea is to be increased. The protection of critical infrastructure through patrols is to be expanded, she said. The reason is the increase in hybrid attacks from Russia and its supporters.

Baerbock cited the destruction of cables, the disruption of the global positioning system GPS and the incident with the German Bundeswehr helicopter and the tanker as examples.

Tensions in the Baltic Sea

Most recently, in November, damage occurred within a short period of time to two fiber optic cables in the Baltic Sea. This was a cable that runs between Sweden and Lithuania and one between Finland and Germany. The cause of this is still unclear in both cases. The Swedish authorities are investigating possible sabotage. The investigators' focus is on a Chinese ship called "Yi Peng 3", which is said to have passed the affected parts of the cables at the time in question. Previously, a gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was severely damaged last year.

After the damage to the communication cables in the Baltic Sea, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk recently proposed joint surveillance of the sea by the navies of the western coastal states.

In addition to Russia, China, North Korea and Iran in particular are accused of wanting to weaken states in Europe with so-called hybrid attacks. This umbrella term covers actions that state or non-state actors use to harm other countries without waging open war. As a rule, they are difficult or even impossible to attribute to a specific perpetrator.