Sweden beefs up defense in case of Russian invasion

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Swedish officials have been given the order to ensure the country is ready for war should Russia try to invade.

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A letter, sent out to all local authorities from the country’s Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), has said they must be better equipped to respond to the treat of war.

According to the Swedish newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet, the letter reads: “This places a high demand on... operational speed, decision making, information sharing, crisis communication, flexibility, robustness and handling secret information.”

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This news comes after the country revived the Total Defense Strategy in December last year, which states that defending the nation from foreign aggression should involve economic and civilian precautions as well as military ones.

The head of MSB’s information, Svante Werger, told the newspaper: “There is nothing to indicate that war is likely, but we have the government’s mandate plan for it.”

The letter has been criticized by local leaders who have accused the Swedish government of using Russian aggression in order to justify more military spending.

Earlier this year Sweden sent troops to the Baltic Island, Gotland, because of Russian aggression.

Soldiers and armor were deployed because of a specific “threat” from Putin’s army, a Swedish newspaper claimed in September.

This story first appeared in The Sun.