“AThe armed forces are taking the necessary measures to protect the integrity of Sweden and demonstrate our ability to protect Sweden and the interests of the Swedes,” Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist told AFP via email.
The move comes after three Russian amphibious assault ships sailed across the Baltic Sea through the Great Belt off Denmark this week as tensions escalate between Russia and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states.
In a statement released Thursday, the military said troops would be deployed to “intensify operations in many locations” due to “increased Russian activity in the Baltic Sea.”
Hutqvist also told news agency TT that the patrols on Gotland show that Sweden is taking the situation seriously and that “it won’t be taken by surprise”.
Swedish military operations commander Michael Claesson told AFP that the units sent to Visby come from a garrison already stationed on the island, denying it was a “show of force”.
Western countries blame Russia for tanks and dozens of soldiers amassing on the border with Ukraine in recent weeks, which NATO says is a prelude to a possible invasion.
Russia denies it is preparing a military offensive and says it is a response to the growing presence of the Atlantic Alliance in its sphere of influence.
In the middle of today, the Swedish armed forces said they had detected growing Russian activity in the Baltic Sea, indicating the presence of “elements that deviate from the normal framework”, and decided to increase military training in the Scandinavian country.
“From now on, we will be more visible and will be in important civilian strategic locations,” Thomas Angshammar, spokesman for the SVT Gotland Regiment, told public television, referring to the port and airport of Sweden’s largest island in the Baltic Sea. Sea. .
The reason lies in the “increasing activity” in areas close to Sweden and the importance of “demonstrating to the people of Gotland and other countries that we have an active defense that adapts to the situation.”
However, the Swedish defense believes that the risk of an attack on the Scandinavian country is “low”.
Tensions between Sweden and Russia have intensified in recent years, which coincided with the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, with mutual condemnations of airspace violations, in particular by the Swedish side.
The most serious incident occurred in 2014, when Stockholm cited a violation of its territory by an alleged foreign submarine, indirectly blaming Russia for this, but the main evidence – several photographs provided by civilians – was forgotten after a few months.
In recent years, Sweden has stepped up its cooperation with NATO, with which it has an association agreement, and has approved a number of measures to increase its defense budget.
The Stockholm government also decided to send a permanent detachment to Gotland, restore compulsory military service, allow the presence of NATO troops on Swedish soil and reissue a manual with information on how to act in the event of an emergency or military invasion.
In 2018, the Swedish Armed Forces called on the 22,000-strong National Guard, a permanent corps of volunteer reservists, to prove their ability to mobilize, a measure that has not been used since 1975.
Read also: Sweden increases military readiness in the face of Russian activity, eliminates the threat
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