Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has described Sweden as being in a hybrid war, facing cyberattacks and internal threats. He also highlighted the growing tensions in the Baltic Sea.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sunday that Sweden is “not at war” but not at peace either, citing the hybrid threats the country faces.
During the annual Folk och Defense Forum in Salen, he clarified that true peace “is freedom and the absence of serious conflicts between countries”, according to AFP, which is not the case for the Sweden currently.
He mentioned hybrid attacks, carried out not by soldiers or missiles, but through cyberattacks, disinformation, and threats of sabotage. These forms of indirect warfare, which target critical infrastructure and destabilize without open military confrontation, are difficult for Swedish authorities to trace and attribute.
The situation in the Baltic Sea worries Sweden
Worrying incidents in the Baltic Sea, such as damaged cables, add to this situation. Although Sweden has not publicly named a specific responsible, these degradations are often attributed to Russia by analysts, as part of a hybrid war waged against Western countries. These actions have led to navigation bans for certain vessels suspected of damaging vital infrastructure.
Tensions in the Baltic Sea have intensified since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which makes Sweden, which recently joined NATO, particularly attentive. The Swedish government takes the threat very seriously and considers that it could be part of a long-term “proxy war”, requiring reinforced national defense responses.
Ulf Kristersson spoke of internal attacks by criminal gangs, particularly in connection with Iran. Swedish intelligence agency Säpo has accused Tehran of recruiting Swedish gang members to carry out violence against Israeli interests in Sweden, but Iran has strongly denied the accusations. The Swedish government continues to closely monitor this situation, while taking into account Iranian protests.
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