Sweden’s new defense chief warns of military conflict with Russia

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) - The new Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces warned Monday of a military conflict between Russia and NATO, saying the Nordic country is in a more serious security situation than during the Cold War, local media reported.

Outgoing commander-in-chief Micael Byden, who served since 2015, handed over the role on Monday to Lieut. Gen. Michael Claesson, who replaces him in what is being described by Stockholm as Sweden's most serious security policy situation since the Second World War.

Claesson said that Moscow is "strategically erratic" and that it cannot be ruled out that Russia may end up in a military conflict with a NATO country like Sweden.

“There are many similarities. But at the same time, it is in various ways more unpredictable than the Cold War. There were other mechanisms and dialogue at that time.

“I see a variety of different types of threats. When we talk about hybrid, for example, it sometimes sounds like a kinder form of warfare. It is not, but it is a combination of exploiting vulnerabilities in society as well as there are components of conventional military violence,” Claesson was quoted as saying by national broadcaster SVT Nyheter.

Karlis Neretnieks, former rector of the National Defense University, described Claesson as an "extraordinarily capable officer," SVT reported.

According to Neretnieks, there are two major projects that Claesson needs to tackle as the new commander-in-chief.

One is the rearmament of the armed forces, and the second is to integrate Sweden into NATO.

“Now we must be able to participate in activities in our immediate area, and also far away, we must gain influence. It will also be something that Michael Claesson has to work hard on,” he added.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson warned that the security situation in the Nordic region has not been as serious since World War II after Sweden officially joined the NATO military alliance in March, ending decades of neutrality in the wake of Russia's war on Ukraine.

“Russia will remain a serious threat to Euro-Atlantic security for the foreseeable future,” said Kristersson in a statement delivered in Washington, D.C.

For Sweden, the membership marked the end of an almost two-year-long wait that started in May 2022, when the Nordic country initially submitted its application to join the Western alliance together with neighboring Finland, just three months after the war in Ukraine started.

Finland became a NATO member last year, while Sweden’s application was delayed by Türkiye and Hungary.

Türkiye’s parliament ratified Sweden’s membership bid in January, while Hungary delayed it further until Kristersson made a visit to Budapest on Feb. 23, after which the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban eventually approved Sweden’s accession last month.

Claesson, who will officially assume the role of commander-in-chief from Oct. 1, has been active in the Swedish Armed Forces for almost 40 years. He served between 2012-2013 as the leader of the 24th Swedish contingent in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Between 2020-2023, he was chief of operations within the Armed Forces, and until his new role as commander-in-chief, he has been chief of the defense staff.