Finland and Sweden encourage their residents to prepare for the possibility of war

Sweden began sending some five million brochures to its residents on Monday, encouraging them to prepare for the possibility of war. Neighboring Finland has meanwhile launched a website with similar preparation advice. The two countries abandoned decades of military non-alignment and joined NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Since the start of this war, Stockholm has continually urged its population to prepare, both mentally and logistically, for the possibility of war, given Russia's proximity. The booklet, named «If the crisis or the war comes» (“In case of crisis or war”), sent by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) contains practical advice for dealing with crises such as war, natural disasters or cyberattacks.

With this updated version, it has been sent five times since World War II. The previous version, sent to households in 2018, made headlines: it was the first time it had been sent to residents of Sweden since 1961, at the height of the Cold War.

“The security situation is serious”

“The security situation is serious and we all need to strengthen our resilience in order to be able to face crises, and ultimately war”argued Mikael Frisell, director of MSB, in a press release. The 32-page document describes, using simple illustrations, the threats facing the Nordic country and gives practical advice such as stockpiling food and water.

Over the next two weeks, 5.2 million brochures – also available online in Arabic, Farsi, Ukrainian, Polish, Somali and Finnish – will be sent to the Swedish population. In January, the former commander-in-chief of the Swedish armed forces, Micael Bydén, alarmed his compatriots, urging them to “prepare mentally for war”.

The government of Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer-long border with Russia, also launched a website on Monday with crisis preparedness advice.