Sweden prepares for war

According to the report of the international group Tasnim news agency, quoted by Germany’s “NTV”, so Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine, there has been a change in defense policy in Sweden as well as in Germany. In this way, NATO’s youngest member relies on the concept of “total defense”.

This article continues: Hardly any other European country would be as vulnerable to energy issues as Sweden in the event of a war. In this Scandinavian country, 16,000 km of power lines pass through dense forests and far from civilization. Government and military strategists fear that vandals will gain access to the shade of poplar trees relatively invisibly, damage cables and cause power outages.

Similar to what Russia is currently doing in Ukraine. Gives critical infrastructure is one of the main targets in war. Half of all Ukrainian energy facilities have been damaged since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine more than two years ago. The result is long-term power outages and harsh winters without heating.

Now Sweden wants to prepare for emergency situations. Carl Oscar Bohlin, the country’s minister of civil protection, said in an interview with the Bloomberg business portal: “No one knows how much time we have.” Even before Sweden joined NATO, Bohlin clearly stated at a security conference last summer announced that Sweden wanted to return to the concept of a “total defense policy” from the Cold War era. He added: We had one of the most accurate and well-considered systems in the field of civil defense, which pursues two main goals, firstly, to protect the society in very difficult conditions and finally in the event of an armed attack, and secondly, to try to support our armed forces with Integrating all social tools.

In this way, like in Germany, after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Sweden has also changed its direction in defense policy. Since then, Stockholm has spent significantly more money on its security.

But the spending is not limited to the military: Sweden also wants to shape important infrastructure in the coming years: ports , roads, railway networks, hospitals and shelters need to be developed.

In the 2024 budget, 5.5 billion kroner is earmarked for this, which is equivalent to around 470 million euros – almost three times more than last year. 2021. Meanwhile, ten billion crowns are needed to prepare for crises.

The country’s army has a similar opinion, the country’s commander-in-chief Michael Biden told Bloomberg: “It doesn’t matter how much the army It gets stronger – if we don’t get the necessary support from civil defense, we won’t be able to do this and what is needed.

The most important project in this field at the moment is the reactivation of a disused power plant in the city of Malmö. It is in the south of Sweden. The original plan was to completely dismantle Öresundsverket and sell it to new owners – but then the Ukrainian war happened and changed everything.

Network operator Svenska Kraftnät wants this The German energy giant Uniper restarts the plant to ensure the security of supply in case of an attack on the power grid. According to Bloomberg, Mikael Nilsson, the manager of the plant, said: “We hope to be in a situation where Let’s not feel compelled to use these options, but it’s reassuring to know the powerhouse is there when needed.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine also marks a turning point for the Swedish population. Therefore, an essential part of rearmament measures is compulsory military service for Swedish citizens. It was reintroduced in 2017. In a country with a small population like Sweden, this process is sufficient to meet the personnel needs of the army.

The second pillar on which the Swedish defense is based is the so-called “public service commitment”. Kamila Asp, one of the experts in this field, explains: All residents of Sweden are obliged to contribute to the defense. whether in the armed forces, as part of the protection of the civilian population or to maintain important social functions such as healthcare, transport, electricity or childcare.

At the end of last year, the Swedish government also He re-introduced compulsory socialization as the third pillar. Based on this, all citizens of the country must serve the society. This completes the concept of “total defense”. Shooting closed