https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/s...iser-9snb7pb36
Russia, terror, gangs: Sweden’s ‘worst security crisis since 1945’
Sweden is facing the most serious challenges to its security since the Second World War, one of its top foreign policy officials has said.
The Scandinavian country, once a symbol of peace, neutrality and social cohesion, is now threatened on three fronts by Russia, Islamist terrorism and a wave of shootings and bombings as armed cartels battle for supremacy over drugs.
Henrik Landerholm, Sweden’s national security adviser, said these dangers were feeding off one another as Moscow used disinformation and other
hybrid warfare techniques to target the weak spots in its society and stoke anger among fundamentalist Muslims.…
On Monday, the government will begin assessing proposals from the chief of defence staff on how to reshape the armed forces to counter the resurgent security threats of the 2020s and help to safeguard the Baltic sea, a significant target for Russian aggression.
Landerholm said Sweden was still coming to terms with its new strategic role on Nato’s eastern flank, not least because of the Swedish island of Gotland, which overlooks the main maritime routes through the Baltic and could be pivotal in any large conflict.
“One thing that has actually changed is our own strategic perceptions — to what extent we understood that our territory and the [accompanying] opportunities to protect and defend the Baltic area are increased by Swedish Nato membership,” he said…..
“That was not taken into full account before we started the accession process. We may have even underestimated the importance of our territory for the alliance.”