Sweden Increases Defence Spending Amid Possible Russian Attack
The Swedish government plans to increase military spending next year to 2.4% of GDP and even more in response to the threat from Russia. The relevant draft law was presented recently.
The Minister of Defence Paul Johnson said this in an interview, Politico reports.
‘The risk of an attack cannot be ruled out. Russia is the main threat to Sweden, and it is a threat to the entire Alliance,’ he said.
According to Jonson, Russia is currently limited in its actions, as its ground forces are ‘mired’ on the battlefield in Ukraine, but Sweden takes into account that Russia is ready to take great military and political risks.
It is noted that the country plans additional military spending of 170 billion kronor (15 billion euros) plus 35.7 billion kronor for civil defence by 2030.
In total, Sweden plans to increase the number of conscripts to 10,000 annually by the end of this decade, and the total number of army personnel will increase by about 27,000 men and women to about 115,000.
Earlier in September, Defence Minister Paul Johnson said that Sweden plans to increase defence spending by 13 billion kronor ($1.3 billion) in the 2025 state budget.
According to him, the country's military spending will increase from 2.2% this year to 2.4% of GDP in 2025 and is projected to reach 2.6% in 2028.