Already? Sweden Soon to Join NATO: Defense Minister Issues War-Warning to Swedish People

On Sunday, at the annual "Society and Defense" conference, Swedish Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin issued a stark warning to the Swedish people. Sweden is about to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO,) which prompted the comments.

"For a nation for whom peace has been a pleasant companion for almost 210 years, the idea that it is an immoveable constant is conveniently close at hand," Swedish Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said at Folk och Försvars, or "Society and Defense," annual national conference in Sälen on Sunday.
"But taking comfort in this conclusion has become more dangerous than it has been for a very long time," he said, according to a government transcript. "Many have said it before me, but let me do so in an official capacity, more plainly and with naked clarity: There could be war in Sweden."

The chief of Sweden's military has this to say on the topic:

The commander in chief of the Swedish armed forces, General Micael Byden, who visited the eastern front of Ukraine in December, also spoke to the conference on Sunday, warning all Swedes to prepare mentally for the possibility of war as their nation is just two steps short of NATO membership.
"We must understand how serious this situation really is and that people, down to the individual level, are preparing themselves mentally," Bydén said, according to Euractiv.

From these comments, it appears that the Russia/Ukraine war weighs heavily on the minds of the Swedish military.

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Sweden has a capable military, with 13 regiments of Army troops, one submarine group, two naval warfare flotillas, two Marine regiments, and two primary naval bases. Sweden also has a long military history, including the campaign for Swedish independence in 1521, led by Swedish King Gustav Vasa.

Sweden is awaiting ratification by Turkey and Hungary for final approval to join NATO.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday that Turkey’s parliament appears set to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership in the coming weeks, Reuters reported. It then would need Hungary’s approval. Sweden remained neutral in the Second World War and has not seen an armed conflict since its short war against Norway in 1814. On Sunday, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told the conference Sweden is on track to meet NATO’s target of spending 2% of GDP on military defense, doubling spending since 2020, the BBC reported.

Sweden was perhaps technically neutral in the Second World War, although Sweden did allow German troops of the 163rd Infantry Division with heavy weapons to transit through the country on their way to Finland.

Sweden is right to be concerned about events in Europe. Joining NATO enters them into a binding obligation under Article 5, committing the Swedish military to engage in operations against any nation that initiates conflict against any NATO nation, including the Baltic states, near Sweden, which border Vladimir Putin's Russia and which were formerly part of the Soviet Union. Understandably, this could be a cause of concern for Swedish military planners.