Sweden distributes war leaflets to citizens

Leon Werner/watson.de

Russia's aggressive war in Ukraine forced the Scandinavian countries to abandon their neutrality. Finland will join NATO in April 2023. Sweden will follow in March 2024.

Countries have recognized that this war requires a rethinking of security policies. Now, they are also preparing their citizens for the worst-case scenario: war in their own country.

Nordic countries prepare citizens for worst-case scenarios

According to British news channel BBC, the Swedish government is distributing leaflets to the country's residents. Millions of Swedes found one of these in their mailboxes on Monday.

This paper is about how people should prepare for the possibility of war and what to do in an emergency. The last time the Swedish government produced such a pamphlet was six years ago. This content has been updated due to the worsening security situation due to the war in Ukraine. The range should now be twice as large.

In neighboring Finland, which borders Russia, there is a similar newspaper, but it is purely online to save taxes. According to the report, Norway, like Sweden, relies on paper and has sent a total of 2.2 million information brochures. A spokesman for the Norwegian Civil Protection Agency confirmed that this amounted to one share for every household in the country.

Survival information: How to get food and medicine?

The information sheets for these three countries contain basic survival information. It includes detailed information on how citizens can obtain food and medicine in emergencies. It was also emphasized that the Nordic countries are ready for “self-defense” in the event of war.

“We will never give up if Sweden is attacked by other countries. All messages saying that resistance should cease are wrong,” Sweden's pamphlet said.

Germany's neighbor Denmark also sent emails containing such information: In the first three days of the war, citizens received instructions on how to survive, according to emergency management authorities.

In Germany, the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief has a brochure. However, this is mostly about the correct response to catastrophic fires, floods, storms, power outages and releases of hazardous materials. There is no clear information yet if a war breaks out.

Russia threatens Scandinavian countries

The Nordic country faces regular threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin. After Finland joined NATO, he threatened in an interview with Russian state television that the country would now have problems.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova issued a similar threat to Sweden. Russia will respond by joining NATO. However, she did not explain specifically what these might look like.

The German federal government believes that China is providing drone assistance to Russia. “This must and will have consequences,” Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said on the sidelines of an EU meeting in Brussels. The war of aggression against Ukraine launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin is also an attack on European freedoms and affects the core interests of all European countries.