Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said Tuesday her government wanted to boost the country's military capabilities following Russia's invasion of Ukraine as the "general threat level" had increased.

"Sweden's defensive capabilities need to be strengthened, the rearmament needs to be brought forward," Andersson said during a televised speech to the nation.

"Sweden should have a strong defence," she said, announcing they would initiate talks for additional resources.

"We are not under a direct threat of an armed attack against Sweden, but the general threat level has increased," she said.

After the end of the Cold War, Sweden slashed military spending. It was only after Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 that parliament agreed on a turnaround.

Sweden reintroduced mandatory military service in 2017 and reopened its garrison on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea in January 2018.

In October, it bumped up defence spending by 40 percent with an extra 27 billion Swedish kronor ($2.8 billion, 2.5 billion euros) to be added to the defence budget from 2021 to 2025.

Sweden is not a NATO member, but cooperates closely with the alliance.

However, like in neighbouring Finland, the debate around NATO membership has been reignited in recent weeks.

According to a poll by public broadcaster SVT last Friday support for joining NATO is historically high in Sweden at 41 percent.

Finland's view on joining NATO is 'changing' says PM
Helsinki (AFP) March 1, 2022 - Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked a change of mindset among Finnish citizens and politicians towards joining NATO, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Tuesday.

"The views of citizens are certainly changing and I believe those of the parties and their members are also changing," due to the deteriorating security environment, Marin said.

She was speaking to reporters after party leaders met to consider how to respond to a public petition calling for a referendum on NATO membership.

But she cautioned against "drawing conclusions", saying: "We will evaluate the right way to proceed."

The Nordic country of 5.5 million shares a 1,340 kilometre (830 mile) border with Russia and, despite joining the EU in 1995, has remained outside the military alliance, in large part for fear of reprisals from Moscow.

Yet support for becoming a NATO member, which would see Finland benefit from the alliance's mutual defence clause, has reached an all-time high since Russia began its assault on Ukraine last Thursday.

For the first time, a majority (53 percent) of Finns are in favour of joining the Atlantic alliance, according to a poll published on Monday by public broadcaster Yle.

One month ago a survey in the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper put support for NATO membership at just 28 percent.

"This debate is underway, it is intensifying and it is certain to gather pace," Marin said on Tuesday.

In another "historic decision", Finland on Monday also agreed to send weapons to Ukraine, including 2,500 assault rifles, ammunition and 1,500 single-use anti-tank weapons.

Experts expect Finland to act in concert with Sweden, which is also weighing whether to join NATO.

Such a move would further heighten tensions between Russia and the West, since the eastward expansion of NATO is the prime security grievance for the Kremlin.

Last Friday, Russia's foreign ministry warned that if the Nordic countries were to join NATO it would "have serious military and political repercussions."

Helsinki shrugged this off as a warning it had heard before.

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Countries sending arms and aid to Ukraine
Paris (AFP) Feb 27, 2022
Many countries including neutral non-aligned Sweden have started to send military or humanitarian aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded on Thursday. The United States, Canada and 19 European countries have so far responded to urgent Ukrainian appeals for military equipment. - United States - Washington said Saturday it is sending an extra $350 million in military aid to Kyiv to bring its total support to more than a billion dollars over the last year. "This package will include further let ... read more