War preparations in Sweden

The government in Stockholm is preparing for the defense of the country, while Sweden is waiting for the agreement of the Parliament in Ankara and the one in Budapest to become a member of NATO, is the conclusion of the first days of debate within the national conference on defense that takes place in these days in the Scandinavian country.

Carl-Oskar Bohlin, Sweden's Minister of Civil Defense, said at the event: "Many have said it before me, but let me say it with the authority of the position I hold, less packaged and with unadorned clarity: there could be war in Sweden. I don't want to appeal to citizens' fear, but rather to their perception of the current situation, to make them ask themselves: "who am I, if war comes?".

The minister's view of the situation is shared by Commander-in-Chief Michael Byden, who yesterday morning said on TV 4's morning show that all Swedish citizens must be prepared for war.

"We have to understand how serious this situation really is and that the mental preparation for this must be done at the level of each individual," said Michael Byden.

Sweden is still awaiting the approval of Turkey and Hungary to join NATO, but the government has already managed to sign an agreement that gives the US the right to establish military bases in several military perimeters in the Scandinavian country, a decision that has been criticized by the political opposition that does not want for American troops to occupy those territories.

In order to be resilient in the face of current threats, the Swedish authorities demand that the whole society act in preparation for a possible war on the country's territory and state that "lack of action is not a permitted modus operandi".

Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin asked the participants of the conference, whether they are executive directors in a public institution, local councilors, employees or private companies to start organizing or participating in defense training courses, noting that for private companies and their employees to participate on a voluntary basis.

The senior Swedish official stated: "The government must also speed up the pace: what can be done quickly must be done quickly, nothing should be delayed unnecessarily and where we can facilitate things, let's do it. What is good to do tomorrow is better than what we can do perfectly in 5 years. One such example is civil liability. Civil duty is now activated and further training of those with civil duties in the rescue service will begin already within the year. In the same way, we are working on the preparation of the supply. (...) It may sound harsh, but if I'm criticized for shortening action times or similar steps in the preparation process, I can live with that. Everyone must internalize that the situation is different from what we have been used to in this country. The world is facing a security policy development with greater risks than those at the end of World War II. We stand with Ukraine, with our allies, with the rules-based world order, and we do it in fact (...). All this will require more from us than before, and it begins with the awareness of the need to defend Sweden."

According to Sweden's Military Intelligence and Security Service, the military threat to that country has worsened and there is a major risk of being drawn into an armed conflict with the Russian Federation. Threats are rampant in the digital domain and the authorities in Stockholm believe that the protection of sensitive operations needs to be improved.