COPENHAGEN, Denmark

Denmark on Monday said its fighter jets were activated 81 times in 2024 as part of repulsion preparedness, primarily in response to Russian military aircraft flying near the country, local media reported.

“In the vast majority of cases, this was a reaction to Russian military aircraft approaching Danish airspace while remaining in international airspace,” Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told the parliament’s Defense Committee, according to Ritzau news agency.

He, however, added that there have been no violations of Danish airspace by Russian forces last year.

The 81 activations in 2024 mark a sharp increase from the 55 cases in 2023 and are slightly above the 80 incidents recorded in 2022.

The number of activations has surged significantly since the beginning of Russia’s war on Ukraine in February 2022, according to the news agency.

In January, Denmark announced that with its fighter jets and naval vessels, it would contribute to NATO operations in the Baltic Sea to enhance regional security and protect critical infrastructure.

“Intensified surveillance (of the Baltic Sea) will be done with aircraft and ships with periodic operations and in ongoing coordination with NATO and Baltic Sea allies,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement to the Ritzau news agency.

The operations aim to safeguard vital undersea infrastructure, including cables, amid a series of suspected sabotage incidents affecting electricity and gas lines in the Baltic Sea.

The September 2022 explosions that ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines carrying Russian gas to Europe remain unresolved, further emphasizing the region's vulnerability to undersea attacks.

Authorities across the Baltic region continue to investigate these incidents.