Sweden, Finland update civil guides as NATO members prepare for war risks

Sweden on Monday began sending some five million pamphlets to residents urging them to prepare for the possibility of war, as neighbouring Finland launched a new preparedness website.

In January, Sweden’s former military commander-in-chief Gen. Micael Bydén said it openly: Swedes should mentally prepare for the possibility of war. Sweden in March formally joined NATO as the 32nd member of the transatlantic military alliance, nearly a year after Finland.

The updated Swedish guide explains how to respond to an attack with nuclear, chemical or biological weapons: ”Take cover in the same way as with an airstrike. Shelters provide the best protection. After a couple of days, the radiation has decreased sharply.”

“It is no secret that the security situation has deteriorated since the previous brochure was issued in 2018,” Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin told a press conference last month. The Swedish Baltic Sea island of Gotland sits a little more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

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Since the start of the Russia- Ukraine war, Stockholm has repeatedly urged Swedes to prepare both mentally and logistically for the possibility of war, citing the serious security situation in its vicinity.

In Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) land border with Russia, the guide is compiled by the government, which has stressed that “preparedness is a civic skill in the current global situation.”

The Nordic countries all urge people to stockpile drinking water, canned food, medicine, heating, toilet paper, money and flashlights and candles. And if possible, keep the car fully refueled.

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The checklist also includes iodine tablets, in case of a nuclear event.

With inputs from agencies.