Sweden and Finland warn residents to be prepared for war

Sweden and Finland have all begun warning their residents to prepare for the possibility of war, as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues.

Stockholm on Monday published the latest version of “In Case of Crisis or War,” a pamphlet instructing citizens on how to prepare for and overcome a national crisis, which last aired in 2018.

The pamphlet, which has been published five times since World War II, is now twice as long at 32 pages and focuses on war preparations as the Swedish government warns of the deteriorating situation in Ukraine.

“The security situation is serious and we all need to strengthen our resilience to cope with various crises and ultimately war,” said Mikael Frisell, director of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency.

An estimated 5.2 million copies of the pamphlet will be delivered to Swedish households over the next two weeks, with the text available online in multiple languages.

The text calls on citizens to be ready with a stockpile of food and emergency supplies, including baby food, medicine and hygiene products.

The Swedish campaign comes as neighboring Finland has also published its own online crisis preparedness brochure, detailing how the Finnish government would respond in the event of war.

Helsinki warned that only 58% of Finns have enough emergency supplies domestically to weather a crisis, according to the latest government survey in September.

The warnings come after Norway published its own physical pamphlets earlier this year on how it can cope on its own for a week in the event of a national crisis, including war.

“We have sent out 2.2 million paper copies, one for every household in Norway,” the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection said in a statement.

The preparations by Sweden and Finland come after the two countries, long neutral, decided to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, amid fears that the Kremlin would continue to claim territory across Eastern Europe.

Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukraine as the invasion approaches its third year, with Kiev struggling to halt Moscow’s slow but steady advance.

With Postal Wires