Sweden is sending out some five million pamphlets to residents urging them to prepare for the possibility of war, with instructions on how to stockpile food and water amid growing fears of a conflict with Russia.
Neighbouring Finland has also launched a new preparedness website while Norwegians recently received booklets instructing them on how to manage on their own for a week in the event of war and other threats.
Both Sweden and Finland dropped decades of military non-alignment to join the US-led military alliance NATO in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Since the start of the war, Stockholm has repeatedly urged Swedes to prepare both mentally and logistically for the possibility of war, citing the serious security situation in its vicinity.
The booklet ‘If Crisis or War Comes’, sent by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), contains information about how to prepare for emergencies such as war, natural disasters, or cyber attacks.
It is an updated version of a pamphlet that Sweden has issued five times since World War II. However, underlining the seriousness of the potential threat, the book is twice the size of previous years.
In one of the more worrying excerpts, which harks back to advice given by governments during the darkest days of the Cold War, it informs people of the risk of nuclear weapons.
‘The global security situation increases the risks that nuclear weapons could be used. In the event of an attack with nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, take cover in the same way as in an air attack,’ it instructs readers.
‘Shelter provides the best protection. After a couple of days, the radiation has decreased significantly,’ it advises, adding that people will be warned of attacks over the radio and should go to basements or subways if there is no better option.
Another message, which has been brought forward from the middle of the booklet in the updated version, reads: ‘If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up. All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false.’
It comes as tensions between Moscow and Ukraine’s western allies have reached new heights, with the Biden administration yesterday giving Kyiv the green light to blast targets inside Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles.
In the US, the move riled supporters of president-elect Donald Trump, who pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible.
Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr, posted on X after Biden’s decision was announced, saying that ‘the military industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives’.
After nearly two years of political joustling and a series of menacing threats from Vladimir Putin, Sweden finally became a member of NATO back in March.
Prompted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Scandinavian nation and its Nordic partner Finland conducted a comprehensive review of national security policy and just two months later applied to join the mammoth bloc.
The previous version sent out in 2018 made headlines, as it was the first time it had been sent to Swedes since 1961 at the height of the Cold War.
‘The security situation is serious and we all need to strengthen our resilience to face various crises and ultimately war,’ MSB director Mikael Frisell said in a statement.
Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said last month that as the global context had changed, advice to Swedish households had to be reviewed to reflect the reality of the situation.
The 32-page document outlines with simple illustrations the threats facing the Nordic nation, including military conflict, natural disasters, and cyber and terror attacks.
It includes tips for preparedness, such as keeping non-perishable food in stock and storing water, as well as giving people pointers on how to take shelter in an emergency situation.
MSB said the updated 2024 version had a stronger focus on preparation for war.
‘An insecure world requires preparedness. The military threat to Sweden has increased and we must prepare for the worst – an armed attack,’ its introduction states.
It goes on: ‘When someone wants to take the right to rule over us by force, it threatens our right to a free and independent life.
‘There are also ways other than military force to influence and damage our country, for example cyberattacks, influence campaigns, terrorism and sabotage.
‘That can happen at any time, and a lot is going on here and now. We cannot take our freedom for granted. And we must have will and courage to defend our open society, even if it means sacrifices.’
The brochure is available in print in both Swedish and English and digital versions are available in several other languages – including Arabic, Farsi, Ukrainian, Polish, Somali and Finnish.
Sweden’s former army chief Micael Byden alarmed many of his compatriots in January when he urged them to consider their own preparedness.
‘Swedes have to mentally prepare for war,’ he said.
Also on Monday, the government in Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia, launched a website gathering information on preparedness for different crises.
Sweden and Finland were previously considered neutral states, but are now ramping up their readiness for potential conflicts.
Last month, Swedish defence minister Pal Jonson warned that Moscow could attack Sweden as it grapples for control of the Baltic Sea, with Russian naval fleets docked in St Petersburg and Kaliningrad.
‘Russia poses a threat to Sweden, as it does to the rest of NATO. We cannot rule out a Russian attack on our country,’ Jonson told Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita.
Though the Kremlin’s forces are ‘tied up in Ukraine,’ he said, Vladimir Putin’s government has shown it is ‘willing to take serious military and political risks.’
NATO on Sunday scrambled its warplanes from Poland and Romania to the border with Ukraine after Russia targeted the country’s critical infrastructure with a new onslaught of missile attacks.
The country’s energy operator DTEK announced emergency power cuts at around 7am UK time on Sunday morning affecting the Kyiv, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions following overnight drone strikes.
It said shortly thereafter thermal power plants had been struck.
Air defences were deployed to intercept drones in Kyiv as residents were urged to take cover, while missiles bound for the west of the stricken country prompted NATO to send warplanes to assist.
‘Due to the massive attack by the Russian Federation using cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles on objects located, among others, in western Ukraine, Polish and allied [NATO] aircraft have begun operating in our airspace,’ said a statement from the Polish operational command.
‘On-duty fighter pairs were scrambled, and the ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems reached the highest state of readiness.
‘The steps taken are aimed at ensuring safety in areas bordering the threatened areas.’