Russian Defense Minister awarded the commander of the ship that fired signal flares at a Danish helicopter

Andrey Belousov presented the "For Combat Distinction" medal to the commander of the corvette *Soobrazitelny" "for skillful and decisive actions in preventing a provocation by a Danish Air Force helicopter," the Russian Defense Ministry stated.

The day before, Denmark reported that on Monday, a Russian warship fired two signal flares at a Danish helicopter that was conducting routine surveillance of the vessel. 

The Danish Foreign Ministry called the incident "completely unacceptable" and summoned the Russian ambassador. The diplomat stated that the Danish helicopter had engaged in "provocative actions" prior to the incident.

 According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the corvette "Soobrazitelny" was carrying out missions in neutral waters in the Baltic Sea when a Danish Air Force Fennec helicopter approached the vessel and failed to respond to calls on the international communication channel.