Baltic states deliver anti-missiles to Ukraine +++ Sweden shows increased presence in the Baltic Sea
View of the escalating Ukraine conflict gives Sweden an overview of Russian activities in the Baltic Sea. It is not a question of a higher level of readiness, but a redistribution of resources on readiness, stressed the Swedish military, which on Thursday published pictures of the troop and equipment reinforcement – including shots of tanks crossing the streets of Sweden’s largest Baltic Sea island Gotland drive.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will meet Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde and Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto on Monday. The Scandinavian EU country had already increased its presence on Gotland about a week ago.
Like neighboring Finland, Sweden is not a NATO member, but both countries are close partners in the military alliance. It should stay that way, as Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist made clear in a TV debate on Thursday evening. Hultqvist told Deutsche Welle on Friday: “We cannot rule out an armed attack on Sweden.” Therefore he wanted to make it clear that his country was ready to defend itself. “Sweden stands ready to defend its sovereignty and integrity and is dying to do so itself, but also together with other countries that we have cooperated with for many, many years.”
A few days ago, some Russian landing ships were also observed in the Baltic Sea. According to the TT news agency, a total of six ships, more than normal, were in the area. You have now left the Baltic Sea again, but anchored three layers in the middle of the week due to poor weather conditions in the Kattegat.
In Finland last weekend, a large Russian cargo plane caused astonishment, which is said to have taken a detour through Finnish airspace. In Sweden, several drones had been sighted over sensitive locations such as nuclear power plants – where they came from is unclear.
Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin recently said it was “very unlikely” that her country would become a NATO member under her leadership. However, she emphasized that the EU member state with the longest national border with Russia has the right to join the alliance in the future.