Sweden, Finland, warns residents to be ready for war: ‘Situation is serious’

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

Stockholm published its latest version of “In Case of Crisis or War” on Monday, a pamphlet instructing civilians on how to prepare for, and ride out, a national crisis that was last sent out in 2018.

The pamphlet, which has been issued 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 worsening situation in Ukraine.

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

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

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 prep brochure, detailing how the Finnish government would react in case of war.

Helsinki warned that as of the last government survey in September, only 58% of Finns have an adequate emergency supply at home to ride out a crisis.

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

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

Sweden and Finland’s prep comes after the two nations, who have long been neutral to war, decided to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over fears that the Kremlin would continue claiming territory across Eastern Europe.

Russia currently holds about 20% of Ukraine as the invasion approaches its third year, with Kyiv struggling to hold back Moscow’s slow but steady advances.

With Post wires