Sweden’s Top Military General Quashes Rumors of Nation’s Nuclear Weapons Intent

STOCKHOLM—Following reports indicating Sweden might consider restarting its nuclear program, the supreme commander of the Swedish armed forces denied the rumor.  

“No, they’re not,” Chief of Defense Gen. Michael Claesson said when asked whether the rumors about a nuclear program were true.  

“We had a nuclear weapons program that was terminated in the 1960s, and there is no plan to restart that right now,” Claesson told The Daily Signal.  

Sweden is one of more than 190 countries that have ratified the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, an agreement aimed at restricting the spread of nuclear weapons. Furthermore, as of last year, Sweden is a part of the “the deterrence system of NATO,” and, according to Claesson, “there is no further need for any arrangement that includes nuclear weapons. So, we are happy with the current arrangements.” 

Multiple news outlets, including the Daily Mail, have in recent days reported that some political leaders in Sweden are interested in restarting a nuclear program.  

Interest in the nuclear program comes as Russia continues to present a threat to the region. For decades, Sweden declined the opportunity to join NATO, but after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Sweden made the choice to join NATO and is now outperforming many longtime member countries on defense spending.  

While Sweden does not border Russia, a Russian missile could reach parts of Sweden, the general explained. The threat of Russia has driven Sweden not only to join NATO but also ramp up weapons production.  

Russia is not deterred by “flag-waving,” Claesson said, adding that “they really have to believe in the strength that you are possessing and that you are showcasing, and that’s what we do. That’s our trade.”  

Sweden produces its own combat aircraft, combat vehicles, over-snow vehicles, and submarines, and aims with all production, according to the general, to ensure that all military products are top-class.  

Sweden, like many other European countries and the U.S., continues to provide support for Ukraine some three-and-a-half years into a war many thought would end after a matter of months. 

Russia has “proven that their abilities do not lie in combat techniques, tactics, operational art, or anything like that. It lies in mass,” Claesson said. “The tremendous amounts of losses that they are capable of absorbing is frightening, and it’s intimidating, really, from a human perspective, to see how much they are ready to invest and to lose in terms of human life and human sacrifice.”  

In June, the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated Russian casualties in the war were likely to hit 1 million over the summer, but it’s impossible to ascertain an accurate number, since Russia does not share that information publicly.  

Because Russia is a “de facto dictatorship,” Claesson said, Russian President Vladimir Putin can also institute a war economy and increase production of weapons inside the country in a way that is more challenging in the West.  

But when it comes to military tactics, the general thinks “it’s fair to say that the Ukrainians have proven in so many domains that they are superior in their approach of military problem-solving,” adding, “at the end of the day, I think that it’s an uneven match in terms of military thinking and operational art advantage for the Ukrainians. But then again, the Russian advantage, as always in history has and is still mass.”  

Putin, according to Claesson, does not want a war with NATO or the U.S., and will only be brought to the negotiating table in earnest to end the war through displays of strength, because “what he respects is strength.”  

The post Sweden’s Top Military General Quashes Rumors of Nation’s Nuclear Weapons Intent appeared first on The Daily Signal.