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MILITARY

Sweden to send Archer artillery to Ukraine

Sweden will send its Archer artillery system as well as armoured vehicles and anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson promised on Thursday.

Published: 19 January 2023 10:59 CET
Updated: 19 January 2023 14:27 CET
Sweden to send Archer artillery to Ukraine
Swedish government ministers at a press conference announcing further military aid to Ukraine. Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT

Speaking at a press conference, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said his government had agreed on a three-part military support package for Kyiv, including “the first decision on starting deliveries of the artillery system Archer to Ukraine”.

Sweden, which has broken with its doctrine of not delivering weapons to a country at war, will also send 50 CV90 armoured vehicles and NLAW portable anti-tank missiles, the government said.

“Military support is decisive,” Kristersson said, as “it can change who retakes the initiative this winter” on the front in Ukraine.

The domestically developed Archer artillery system is composed of a fully automated howitzer mounted on an all-terrain vehicle, which allows the gun to be remotely operated by the crew sitting in the armoured cab.

EXPLAINED: These are the weapons Sweden is sending to Ukraine

Thursday’s decision meant the Swedish Armed Forces would be given the task to “make the preparations to begin delivery of the artillery system Archer to Ukraine”.

Defence Minister Pål Jonson said the government had also asked the armed forces to come back with a recommendation on how many of the Archers currently
in storage could be sent.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday urged Western allies to provide Kyiv with more heavy weapons.

The United States, Kyiv’s main backer, is convening a meeting on Friday of around 50 countries – including all 30 members of the NATO alliance – at the US-run Ramstein military base in Germany to discuss military aid to Ukraine.

Britain this weekend pledged 14 Challenger 2 tanks, making it the first Western country to supply heavy tanks.

The US has also promised to send its Bradley armoured fighting vehicles, while France has offered its highly mobile AMX-10 RCs – offensive systems long seen as off-limits by hesitant Western nations.

Pressure has also been mounting on Germany from European allies to authorise exports of its Leopard tank, which are used by several armed forces around the world.

Asked whether Sweden would be ready to send some of its Leopard tanks, Jonson told AFP on Monday the country had “no principle opposition against sending tanks to Ukraine” but that would not be part of its next package.

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MILITARY

Sweden’s parliament votes by huge majority in favour of Nato accession

Sweden's parliament has voted to ratify the country's accession to the Nato defence alliance, with its historic bill to end two centuries of non-alignment passing with a margin of 269 to 37.

Published: 22 March 2023 16:52 CET
Sweden’s parliament votes by huge majority in favour of Nato accession

During the six-hour debate over the bill, Sweden’s foreign minister, Tobias Billström, said he was convinced that the country’s membership would be ratified by Turkey and Hungary, the two hold-outs in the 30-member alliance, before the summit due to be held in Vilnius in the second week of July. 

“It is obvious that we are going to be able to be members at Vilnius,” he said during the debate, pointing to the backing of the other 28 member states and strong support from the US. “The strength that we have behind us is so tangible that it’s possible to come to such a judgement.”

If Sweden were not to be a member before the summer, he continued, it would put Nato’s open-door policy, a key part of its framework, in question. 

Only two of the eight parties in the Swedish parliament voted against the bill, the Left Party and the Green Party, with their MPs providing all of the 37 “no” votes. A further 43 MPs were absent. 

“It is problematic to join a military alliance with countries which are not democratic, and where we see daily that democracy is withering,” said Håkan Svenneling, the Left Party’s foreign policy spokesperson. “They are now trying to use our application to silence our voice on democracy and human rights.” 

The two parties were also critical of the fact that Sweden was now joining an alliance backed by nuclear weapons. 

“The Nato nuclear alliance is built on the idea of using nuclear weapons as a method of deterrence,” said the Green Party’s Jacob Risberg. “The Green Party do not believe in that doctrine, but believe quite the contrary, that this could lead to more conflict.” 

The Social Democrat’s foreign policy spokesperson Morgan Johansson said he was confident that Sweden would not be made to host nuclear weapons on its territory, even though its agreement with Nato contains no formal statement ruling this out. 

The government’s Nato proposition states that “there is no reason to have nuclear weapons or permanent bases on Swedish territory in peacetime”. 

“I feel completely confident in the test which has been drawn up. There is nothing at all pushing for Sweden to be forced to host bases or nuclear weapons,” he said. 

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