The Kremlin said Friday it was “absurd” to suggest that a drone jammed near a French aircraft carrier in Sweden earlier this week was Russian, after Stockholm said there was a “strong link” to Moscow.

Stockholm said a Swedish navy vessel spotted and jammed the drone on Wednesday in the Oresund Strait, around 13 kilometres from France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, which was there at a stopover on the way to a NATO exercise.

On Thursday, Sweden’s Defence Minister Pal Jonson told the broadcaster SVT that the drone “probably” came from Russia, “as there was a Russian military vessel in the immediate vicinity at the time of the facts”.

When asked about the allegation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was “quite an absurd statement”.

Read moreRussia’s ambassador to Sweden dismisses hybrid war accusations as ‘ridiculous’

He added that the Kremlin had no more information about the incident.

According to the Swedish authorities, its navy jammed the drone using electronic signals to attempt to break the connection between the aircraft and its operator, or disrupt its navigation tools.

The nearby Baltic Sea is a point of contention between Russia and NATO countries, especially since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine.

NATO’s easternmost countries have reported numerous drone sightings in recent months, with some pointing the finger at Russia.

There is growing concern in Europe that such disruption could be part of hybrid war tactics by Moscow against European nations which have backed Ukraine.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)