Sweden will send troops to Latvia, where they will join a Canadian-led force to “deter a Russian invasion,” the Scandinavian country’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said yesterday at the annual defense conference in Sanden, Sweden.
Although Sweden’s entry into NATO is not yet complete, the government of the northern European enlargement candidate has signaled that it is ready to do its part to “contain Russia and protect the Baltic states.”
“Sweden and its neighbors live in the direct shadow of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” Kristersson argued. “But Russian threats, disinformation and cyber attacks are an attempt to destabilize all of Europe.”
According to the prime minister, Stockholm is ready to “provide ground combat units” to defend the Baltic states and plans to “deploy a reduced battalion to the Canadian-led force in Latvia next year.”
Canada currently commands a NATO battle group in Latvia of approximately 1,000 officers and men. The North American alliance member previously said it plans to double its battle group force in the Baltic republic by 2026.
According to the Swedish news agency DN, Stockholm plans to send a mechanized battalion of about 800 troops, as well as armored vehicles, to Latvia. Sources told DN that the Swedish contingent will be transferred to Latvian territory at the beginning of 2025.
Minister of Defense of Latvia Andris Spruds already thanked the head of the Swedish government.
“We are pleased with this important decision, which, together with the upcoming admission of Sweden to NATO, will be a significant investment in strengthening the regional security and defense of Latvia,” he wrote on the social network X.
As reported EADaily, last month, illustrated statistics of reconnaissance aircraft flights from NATO countries, Sweden, and even such “exotic” NATO allies for Eastern Europe as Australia, along the borders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, appeared on the Internet. The “flight map” covers the period from August 5 to December 15, 2023. The Kyiv regime’s Western allies continue to provide it with a huge amount of intelligence information on the situation in the Baltic and Black Sea regions, as well as on the movements of Russian troops, the locations of air defense and Russian Navy ships.
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2024-01-09 06:19:00
