GENERAL SKOBELEV

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Tanker may have been involved in shooting incident in Baltic Sea

There was no confirmation whether the incident, on which, during a reconnaissance mission over the Baltic Sea, a German Navy helicopter was shot at with signal ammunition by a Russian naval ship, was in connection with the transit of the 'General Skobelev' on Nov 25/26, 2024.. A helicopter had stated in the mission report that he heard shots with small-caliber ammunition. Before the incident, which took place near Bornholm, a German frigate had pursued the Russian ship. The ship was on its way to the Mediterranean Sea to the Russian naval base Tartus. The helicopter had taken off from the frigate and flown very close to the Russian ship when the shots were fired. however, the helicopter was still outside the safety distance that is maintained at sea. The incident was mentioned by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during a NATO meeting in Brussels. However, she did not provide any details. The exact location of the incident remained also secre for reasons of military security. In principle, the German Armed Forces do not provide any information about movements of the Russian Navy and incidents. Naval helicopters have been deployed on the Baltic Sea several times in recent days. The helicopter now affected by the incident had a reconnaissance mission and was supposed to take photos. The Navy is using aircraft from the 5th Naval Aviation Squadron from Nordholz near Cuxhaven for this purpose. Some units of the Russian Navy have also been operating in the western Baltic Sea in recent days, for example when the "General Skobelev" was escorted through the Fehmarn Belt and the Kadet Trench by a corvette after supplying the Russian troops in Syria. These surveillance operations are also subject to secrecy. Baerbock pointed out at the NATO meeting that ships are repeatedly operating in the Baltic Sea that are involved in circumventing sanctions because of the Russian war against Ukraine. The "General Skobelev" is one of the ships that transport oil for Russian troops. These transports are monitored by units of the Federal Police, the Danish Navy and the German Navy.