Sweden is preparing for an extension of the conflict on its territory

“Sweden must prepare for a war against Russia”, since the army and the government issued this warning in early January, the country has been panicking. The opposition accuses the government of “spreading fear”.

This is a sure sign: in DIY supermarkets, sales of gas stoves, jerry cans and emergency radios are exploding. The media are multiplying survival advice and the emergency number for children has never received so many calls from young people anxious about the idea of ​​an attack on their country.

Sweden is in the red, to the point that the former Prime Minister, Magdalena Andersson, leader of the Social Democrats, deemed it urgent to remind us: “certainly, the situation is serious but the war is not yet upon us“.

“Who will you be if war breaks out?”

What caused this rise in tension were several official statements on January 7 by government and army officials gathered at Salen at a national defense conference. “Yes, there could be a war in Sweden”, summarizes the Minister of Civil Defense. And “Who will you be if war breaks out?”, he asks his fellow citizens. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces added a layer, “Russia’s war against Ukraine is only a stage. We must mentally prepare ourselves for conflict. The more of us who have thought about it and prepared, the stronger our society will be“, did he declare.

In a country that has not experienced conflict since the Napoleonic Wars 210 years ago (the longest period of any other country in the world), the authorities are seeking to create an electric shock.

Alarmist remarks?

But the method is contested, the opposition accuses the government of “spread fear“, while the level of the threat has fundamentally not changed since February 2022. She denounces alarmist remarks intended either to obtain budgetary extensions, or to divert attention from real problems, such as the rail network or the system health. These two sectors in crisis would have difficulty being operational in the event of conflict. She also recalls that the prospect of a Russian attack in Sweden, while the two countries share no land border, is unlikely.

In fact, however, Sweden is preparing for this war. It is a country which claimed its military non-alignment and which, for two years, has broken all its taboos. Sweden sent weapons to Ukraine, dramatically increased its defense budget, signed an agreement with Washington allowing the United States access to 17 military bases on its soil and, of course, asked to join NATO. The request was submitted in May 2022, Turkey and Hungary have still not given the green light. Despite the obstacles, Sweden continues its objective: to raise its deterrence threshold and create resilience in the population.