Invasion puts Sweden army on high alert

A new and more serious reality looms large for Sweden’s conscripts as their military service now takes place in the shadow of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The war has seen Sweden drastically ramp up its military readiness and take the “historic” step this week to apply for Nato membership, reversing two centuries of military non-alignment.

“You realise this is actually for real – I’m not here on some yearlong summer camp,” said Axel Bystrom, a 20-year-old conscript on Sweden’s strategic Baltic Sea island of Gotland.

Breaking off branches from nearby spruces, Bystrom and his fellow soldiers meticulously cover three armoured vehicles to camouflage them.

“You are working to be as good as you possibly can all the time, because you are thinking, ‘this could be a reality. We may have to use it,’” said the native of Visby, Gotland’s medieval main town.

More military exercises are also being held across Sweden.

Sweden has long had a fear of Russia. With the end of the Cold War, the country made swingeing cuts to its defence spending.

But following Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, it decided to rearm and hike spending, reintroducing mandatory military service in 2017.

As only a fraction of the population is called up and avoiding service is quite easy, conscripts like Bystrom tend to be highly motivated.

Spooked by Russia’s assault on Ukraine, Sweden has announced a dramatic increase in defence spending, targeting two percent of gross domestic product “as soon as possible”, up from around 1.5% expected in the next few years.

Overall, Sweden’s armed forces consist of some 55 000 people, including the Home Guard and part-time employees – about 23 600 are part of the regular forces.

For many Swedes, Gotland is a popular summer holiday destination known for its sandy beaches on a sleepy island of 60 000 people.

But it is also less than 350km from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.