Swedish Parliament "Cannot Rule Out Possibility of Russian Invasion" ... Report Released

"Concerns Over Other Types of Attacks as Ukraine War Continues"

The Swedish Parliament has attracted international attention by releasing a report stating that Russia, engaged in the war in Ukraine, cannot rule out various types of invasions, including a direct invasion of Sweden. Following Finland, which recently joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Sweden, which hopes to join, is located in a region adjacent to Russia, and tensions with Russia across the Baltic Sea have intensified, raising concerns about the possibility of localized conflicts.

On the 6th of last month, Swedish troops participating in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) joint exercise. [Image source=Reuters·Yonhap News]

On the 18th (local time), Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported, citing sources, that the Swedish Parliament's Defense Committee is scheduled to release a report stating that the possibility of a Russian invasion cannot be excluded.

The report reportedly states, "Russia has lowered the threshold for the use of military force and prefers high political and military risks," and "Although Russian ground forces are tied up in Ukraine, other types of military attacks against Sweden cannot be ruled out." The report also warns that Russia still retains the capability to conduct operations against Sweden using air force, navy, long-range weapons, or nuclear weapons.

SVT explained that the report reflects Sweden's new defense policy based on NATO membership, rather than the previous policy direction that relied on cooperation with Nordic countries and the European Union (EU). As the war in Ukraine falls into a prolonged stalemate and the possibility of Russian escalation is cautiously raised, this report is expected to influence the rearmament trends of European countries.

Sweden is also actively increasing its military spending in preparation for NATO membership. After significantly reducing its defense budget following the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, Sweden has increased defense spending since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year. The plan is to reach NATO's defense spending guideline of 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2026.

Meanwhile, tensions continue among existing NATO members regarding Sweden's accession. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, Sweden applied for NATO membership along with Finland, but Turkey and Hungary, among NATO members, have not yet ratified Sweden's accession, preventing it from crossing the membership threshold.