Sweden to supply Ukraine with arms in an 'exceptional decision'

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Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced Sunday that her country would break its doctrine of not sending arms to countries in "conflict" and send military equipment, including anti-tank launchers, to Ukraine.

“Exceptional situations require exceptional decisions,” Andersson said.

"Sweden is now proposing direct support for Ukraine's armed forces. It includes 135,000 field rations, 5,000 helmets, 5,000 body shields and 5,000 anti-tank weapons" Andersson told reporters in a news conference.

Sending armed aid to Ukraine has been intensely debatable in Sweden, as the country’s rules related to arms export prohibit sending weapons to a country in the midst of a conflict.

Earlier, NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance will be escalating its military deliveries to Ukraine, despite Kiev not being part of the alliance. The deliveries will include anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems and ammunition to Ukraine, Stoltenberg confirmed.

On Saturday evening, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that 1,000 anti-tank missiles and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles would be sent to Ukraine "as quickly as possible."

Germany has just announced the provision of anti-tank grenade launchers and stinger missiles to Ukraine. Keep it up, Chancellor @OlafScholz! Anti-war coalition in action!

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 26, 2022

Similarly, the French presidency announced that Paris will send fuel and more military equipment to Kiev amid Russia's special operation to demilitarize Ukraine.

Separately, the US provided $350 million in aid to Ukraine on Saturday, bringing the total amount of security support to $1 billion since President Joe Biden took office.

This comes as Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Andrey Klimov, confirmed that Russia will carry out targeted strikes on individuals in Ukraine who transport Western weapons to Kiev.