One of three speeches by Swedish leaders is interpreted as a warning Photo: GETTY IMAGES via BBC The speeches by Swedish leaders are interpreted as a warning Photo: GETTY IMAGES via BBC
Warnings from two senior Swedish defense officials warning the population against war preparations sparked panic and accusations of scaremongering.
Civil Protection Minister CarlOskar Bohlin said this at a conference “There could be war Sweden“.
His message was then supported by the head of the armed forces, General Micael Biden, who said that all Swedes should mentally prepare for this possibility.
However, Opposition politicians criticized the tone of the warnings.
Former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told Swedish television Although the security situation is serious, “it is not as if war is imminent.”
Children's rights organization Bris said there had been a significant increase in calls from concerned young people to its helpline after seeing reports or posts on TikTok raising the issue.
“Everything was well prepared, there was nothing they missed,” Bris spokeswoman Maja Dahl told the BBC. “They should provide information for children when giving this type of information to adults.”
Despite the harshness of the messages The statements by the defense minister and the military chief are seen as a wakeup call.
2 of 3 General Micael Biden said that Swedes need to mentally prepare for a possible conflict Photo: GETTY IMAGES via BBC General Micael Biden said that Swedes need to mentally prepare for a possible conflict Photo: GETTY IMAGES via BBC
After more than two centuries of peace, Sweden is at peace are just a few steps away from joining the NATO military alliance (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, western military alliance).
The country is just waiting for approval for its entry into the parliaments of Turkey and Hungary.
The head of the armed forces made his comments They were nothing new.
A month ago he visited the Eastern Front of Ukraine and Sweden is one of a group of countries training Ukrainian pilots.
Stockholm is also reportedly considering sending modern Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine.
“My goal with this (warning) is not to alarm people; “It’s about getting more people to think about their own situation and their own responsibilities,” General Biden told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.
Finland has already joined NATO, and Russian officials have suggested that the country “will be the first to suffer” if tensions with NATO escalate.
This was stated by the Swedish Defense Minister His goal was not to make people sleepless, but to make them aware of what was really happening.
He called on local authorities, emergency strategists and individuals to respond.
“If there is one thing that keeps me up at night, it is the feeling that things are moving too slowly,” Bohlin said last Sunday at the Society and Defense conference (7).
3 of 3 The file photo shows NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg giving a speech alongside representatives from Finland and Sweden Photo: Yves Herman/Portal The file photo shows NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg giving a speech to representatives from Finland and Sweden Photo: Yves Herman/ Portal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Sweden to work with his country and others during the conference Making weapons and “growing stronger together.”
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson added that Sweden would meet NATO's target of spending 2% of its GDP on military defense by 2024, which would mean doubling its spending compared to 2020.
But for defense expert Oscar Jonsson, the tone of the Swedish authorities' warnings is a kind of “storm in a teacup.”
According to him, 90% of what was said was born out of frustration that very little is being done to build up the country's civil and military defense.
“Time is limited and the aim was to serve as a warning to authorities, individuals and departments,” he told the BBC.
“The Swedish armed forces are incredibly competent, but the scale is not even close. The latest defense law states that we should create 3.5 brigades, while Ukraine had 28 at the start of the war,” he added.
General Biden's warning of possible war follows a statement made a month ago by the head of Poland's National Security OfficeJacek Siewiera.
According to Siewiera, “To avoid war with Russia, the countries on NATO’s eastern flank should set a time horizon of three years to prepare for confrontation.”
He rated a report by the German Council on Foreign Relations as “very optimistic”, which pointed out that Germany and NATO should prepare their armed forces for this be able to defend against a Russian attack in six years.
Jonsson, who is affiliated with the Swedish Defense University, said several factors were necessary for a war between Swedes to occur.
Among them, the Russian war in Ukraine is coming to an end, Moscow will have time to rebuild and rearm its armed forces, and Europe will lose military support from the United States.
All of this is “a possibility, but unlikely,” he added.