The commander-in-chief of the Swedish armed forces has warned that President Putin wants to control the Baltic Sea and “has both eyes” on the strategically important island of Gotland.
General Micael Byden told the RND news site in Germany: “There were times when we reduced our military presence on Gotland to such an extent that we only had a volunteer home defence force there. Those peaceful times are over. The war in Ukraine changed the political situation in Europe and we had to massively rearm Gotland.”
After two centuries of neutrality, Sweden joined Nato in March in response to Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine and conducted military exercises on Gotland the following month. Finland had joined Nato in April last year.
Micael Byden said that Swedish control of Gotland was essential for peace
PONTUS LUNDAHL/TT/ALAMY
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