Sweden ramps up Baltic Sea defenses following Russian buildup

A top military chief in Sweden said January 14, 2022, that there is increased Russian activity in the Baltic Sea that “deviates from the normal picture,” leading the Scandinavian nation’s military to raise its preparedness.

“We have decided to reposition our troops. It does not have to mean an increased threat, but we always want to adapt to the prevailing situation,” Swedish Army Lt. Gen Leif Michael Claesson said.

Sweden, which is not part of NATO, has noticed landing craft from Russia’s northern navy entering the Baltic Sea.

Claesson, who is the operations manager of the Swedish Armed Forces, said that only some of the measures taken by the Swedish military will be visible.

“We will act in different locations in Sweden, in different manners,” he said, adding they would be visible on the strategically important Baltic Sea island of Gotland, which sits a little more than 186 miles from the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad.

A guard platoon, pictured, was seen walking in the harbor of the island’s main town, Visby, on January 13, 2022, as well as in other ports and in the airport.

“We will operate in the air, at sea, below the surface and on the ground in different ways and in different geographical locations,” he said.

Days before the January 14 announcement, Maj. Gen. Lena Hallin, head of Sweden’s military intelligence agency MUST, said: “We are far from a normal situation for Swedish security today.

“For some time, developments have been moving in the direction of a serious security policy crisis in Europe, and it has accelerated in recent months,” Hallin said. “It is an illusion that tensions in Europe would be temporary.”

She said Russia’s “main objectives are regime stability and strengthening its position as a major power. Preventing NATO enlargement in the vicinity of Russia is a top priority — and this is being looked at very long-term.”