Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson declared that the country is neither at war nor at peace while revealing the first-ever deployment of armed forces to the Baltic Sea. This action is allegedly aimed at bolstering surveillance in response to a series of suspected sabotages of undersea cables.

The country announced it will contribute up to three warships and a surveillance aircraft to a NATO effort aimed at monitoring critical infrastructure and Russia’s "shadow fleet" amid claims of sabotage of underwater infrastructure.

During Sweden's three-day annual Folk och Försvars (people and defense) conference in Sälen, northern Sweden, Kristersson stated that the recent Baltic undersea cable breaks are a hostile act that "cannot be ruled out."

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister explained that "Sweden is not at war, but there is no peace either." 

He added, “True peace requires freedom and the absence of serious conflicts between countries. But we and our neighbours are exposed to hybrid attacks, carried out not with robots and soldiers, but with computers, money, disinformation, and the risk of sabotage.” Those who want peace, he said, must “be prepared for war."

Sweden to deploy ASC 890 reconnaissance aircraft 

In a later press conference, he announced that Sweden would deploy an ASC 890 reconnaissance aircraft and up to three warships.

He said, “This is the first time that Sweden has contributed armed forces in our own immediate area." 

Regarding the investigation into the ship Eagle S, which is suspected of damaging a cable between Finland and Estonia last month, he remarked that NATO is "ready to help" and mentioned that a Swedish submarine rescue ship is on location, where it has recovered an anchor.

He said that Sweden does not jump to conclusions or accuse anyone of sabotage without very strong reasons, adding, “But we are not naive either. The security situation and the fact that strange things happen time and time again in the Baltic Sea also lead us to believe that hostile intent cannot be ruled out."

“There is little evidence that a ship would accidentally and without noticing it, drag an anchor with 300 meters of chain for over 100 kilometers, without understanding that it could cause damage.”

He said he would be meeting heads of state and government of the Baltic Sea in Helsinki, Finland’s capital, on Tuesday. “None of us are making frivolous accusations. But we all take it seriously.”

Domestic support for Sweden’s recent NATO membership was, he said, a sign that “Sweden has changed." Sweden is no longer a “blue-eyed idealist on the sidelines” and has instead become “a realist in the center of events," he maintained.

Sweden contributes 2.4% of its GDP to NATO, the prime minister announced, with this figure set to increase to 2.6% within the next three years. Additionally, spending on civil defense is expected to rise to a total of 37.5 billion SEK (£2.75 billion) by 2030, with the construction of a new national cybersecurity center already underway.