Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said today that his country is "not at war", but it is not living in peace either, referring to the "hybrid attacks and proxy war" that are being waged on its territory, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
„Sweden is not at war, but it is not at peace either. "True peace is freedom and the absence of serious conflicts between states," he said at the annual defense forum in the central city of Selen.
"We and our neighbors are being targeted by hybrid attacks, which are not carried out with missiles and soldiers, but with computers, money, disinformation and threats of sabotage," Kristershon said. "This security situation and the fact that strange things continue to happen in the Baltic Sea make us believe that hostile intentions cannot be ruled out," he added.
Several power and telecommunications cables have been damaged in the Baltic Sea in recent months. Experts and politicians say the damage to energy and communications infrastructure is part of "hybrid warfare" of Moscow against the West, AFP notes.
During his speech, the Swedish prime minister did not blame any specific country for the damaged cables, but speaking more generally about hybrid attacks in the region, he said: “ The Russian threat will certainly be long-term. So must our defense“.
He added that the Swedish government takes the situation “serious“ and believes the country is living in an “age of proxy wars“.