– The main thing is to show Sweden’s defense will
Swedish authorities continue to increase military preparedness on Gotland on Saturday. The professor at the Swedish National Defense College believes that the Russians’ demonstration of power in the Baltic Sea is aimed at Swedish cooperation with NATO.
The small town of Visby on Gotland has in recent days become a strategic point in Sweden’s territorial defense.
Below the harbor, several tanks rolled in while heavily armed soldiers patrolled the streets.
After six Russian warships sailed into the Baltic Sea, the Swedish authorities are raising their military readiness.
– It’s a bit annoying, that’s it, says Visby resident Jollivi to Aftonbladet.
– Not only because the army comes here, but because the world situation is as it is, she continues.
Walks up the stairs on Gotland
A military transport plane with over 100 Swedish soldiers landed last Friday in Visby on Gotland. In addition to soldiers, there will also be several military mechanisms to the island.
On Saturday, a ferry arrived at Visby harbor with further military reinforcements. The city’s redevelopment was met with mixed reactions from residents.
This escalation comes a week after several ominous parties from the Russian side.
On Wednesday, three Russian warships sailed in the Baltic Sea through the Danish Strait and on Friday evening the number increased to six warships. On Friday, the websites of the Ukrainian authorities were subjected to a large-scale cyber attack. “Fear and expect the worst,” the hackers wrote.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, but many experts say Russia is behind it.
– It is clear that there are risks. An attack on Sweden, as we say in the Riksdag’s overall defense decision, cannot be ruled out. Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist said on Saturday: We have a tense situation that is not good in Europe today when the European security system is questioned.
In addition to Swedish membership in NATO
One of Russia’s demands is that NATO provide a guarantee that it will not include new member states in the alliance, something that NATO has firmly rejected.
The Swedish National Assembly decided just over a year ago that the government would offer an opportunity that would give Sweden the opportunity to join NATO if they so wished.
But Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist denies that Sweden has plans for this time.
– He said that if, in a tense political-security situation, one begins to formulate oneself in new ways about how one wants to handle the Alliance’s military freedom, then it creates question marks and is slippery.
– denotes strength
A professor at the Swedish National Defense College, Kjell Engelbrecht, leaves no doubt about what the escalation of the Armed Forces on Gotland is about.
– The main thing is to show Sweden’s defense will. There should be no doubt that Sweden will defend any part of its territory, says the researcher who sees transatlantic security as one of its main areas.
Gotland is strategically located in the Baltic Sea and gives the Armed Forces a good overview and the opportunity to control what is going on in the region.
The researcher believes that the fact that Russia sails six warships is mostly about leaving traces.
“I’m not sure they want a confrontation, but they show that they have the opportunity to do so,” Engelbrecht said.
It is also believed that which ships were used can tell something about the message from the Russian side
The landing ship is a symbol of the conquest of a territory. It can not be a coincidence that half a dozen of these appeared in the Baltic Sea.
NATO membership
The professor says that there is a connection to the Swedish and Finnish NATO cooperation in the situation in the Baltic Sea.
“Through its membership of the EU, Sweden has committed itself to increasing military aid to the member states,” says Engelbrecht.
It is also noted that in the Swedish National Assembly there is almost a majority for Sweden’s membership in NATO.
“Russia will indicate that it will not accept any interventions or reinforcements, and will persuade countries such as Sweden and Finland not to allow NATO reinforcements in these areas,” Engelbrecht said.
He believes that marking in the Baltic Sea area is primarily a Russian scare tactic and believes that Gotlanders have no reason to worry.
– He says that the readiness to move along the Russian-Ukrainian border is highly uncertain.