Drone jammed near French aircraft carrier was Russian, says Sweden

A drone jammed by the Swedish military after it was spotted near a French aircraft carrier docked in Malmo has been confirmed to be Russian, Sweden's armed forces say.

The French military said the drone was spotted seven nautical miles (13km) from the Charles de Gaulle carrier, which has never visited Sweden before and is due to take part in Nato exercises in the region.

In a statement, the Swedish Armed Forces said the drone was seen taking off from a nearby Russian spy ship, the Zhigulevsk.

"The incident occurred in connection with Charles de Gaulle's visit to Malmö, and the Navy acted swiftly to jam the drone," it added.

A Kremlin spokesman previously rejected the Swedish claims as "absurd".

Nato allies have for months reported drone sightings close to military sites and airports, including a number of incidents in Denmark and the Baltic states.

An investigation was launched in December after drones flew over the Île Longue naval base, which is home to France's nuclear ballistic submarines off the Breton town of Brest.

Earlier, Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson told public broadcaster SVT there was probably a "strong link" between the drone and a Russian naval vessel in Sweden's territorial waters in the Oresund Strait, between Sweden and Denmark.

Jamming technology works by disrupting radio signals between the drone and its operator, often crashing or disabling the device.

It is not clear what happened to the drone after it had been jammed but Jonson said the Russian ship had sailed on to the Baltic Sea.

Speaking on board the carrier earlier, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the incident was serious but not unexpected. It was very difficult to see as a coincidence, he said, adding that "it is a Russian way of acting that we recognise from other places".

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who was with Kristersson on board the aircraft carrier on Friday, praised Stockholm's handling of the incident.

"If indeed... there is a potential Russian origin for this incident, the only conclusion I would draw is that it would be a ridiculous provocation," he told reporters.

Both armed forces have played down the drone incident, and French General Staff spokesman Col Guillaume Vernet said it had demonstrated the "robustness" of the Swedish response, adding that it had no impact on the French mission.

A French ex-military commander at the UN, Gen Dominique Trinquand, said if it was a Russian drone off Malmo then it was not surprising that Moscow was conducting intelligence operations in the area.

"That they would do so while the French aircraft carrier is deployed there is certainly a strategic signal," he told French media.

The Charles de Gaulle has its own naval escort and carries Rafale fighter jets and reconnaissance planes on board, but relies on a host nation for defence while in its territorial waters.

The carrier strike group's arrival in Sweden signals a change in France's military focus towards its Nato allies in Northern Europe.

Under a mission called La Fayette 26, the Charles de Gaulle will take part in several long-planned Nato exercises in the Baltic and in the Atlantic, off the coast of Norway.

Its mission is being seen as a response to Moscow after a lengthy period of Russian hybrid warfare.

Meanwhile, Sweden's coast guard has opened an investigation into a fuel spill in the port of Malmo, where two oil tankers are docked, as well as the Charles de Gaulle.

The oil spill was detected on Thursday and although the cause is not yet known, the port has told Swedish media it is not linked to the aircraft carrier.