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SWEDEN AND UKRAINE

Sweden to send its 13th military aid package to Ukraine – worth over $300 million

Sweden's government has announced another aid package for Ukraine, donating ammunition and spare parts for previously donated weapon systems.

Sweden to send its 13th military aid package to Ukraine – worth over $300 million
Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson. Photo: Stefan Jerrevång/TT

Speaking at press conference, Defence Minister Pål Jonson said the military aid package, Sweden’s 13th to Ukraine, would include ammunition and spare parts valued at around 3.4 billion kronor ($313 million).

The ammo and parts would be for CV-90 infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), Archer artillery systems and Leopard 2 tanks.

It will also include mine clearing equipment and ammunition for air-defence systems – which Jonson said were crucial to prevent Russia from achieving air supremacy in Ukraine.

Sweden announced in January that it would be sending 50 of its armoured combat vehicles to Ukraine, and pledged to send its mobile Archer artillery system and NLAW shoulder-launched anti-tank missiles.

The following month it said it was also sending “around 10” Leopard 2 tanks along with the IRIS-T and HAWK air-defence missile systems.

“During the spring and winter we sent large materiel packages, that is to say a number of systems. Now we are making sure that the Ukrainians in the long term are also able to use these to reach successes on the battlefield,” Jonson told reporters.

He said the government aimed to have parliament vote on the package Thursday, which would enable the government to move forward on Friday.

Shortly after the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Sweden broke with its doctrine of not delivering weapons to countries at war, pledging thousands of AT4 anti-tank weapons.

The first 12 military aid packages have been valued at around 17 billion kronor ($1.6 billion) in total.

The Scandinavian country has also donated around 5.2 billion kronor in humanitarian and civilian aid.

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SWEDEN AND GERMANY

What’s on the agenda for German chancellor’s visit to Sweden?

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in Sweden to discuss security and business competitiveness with his Nordic colleagues on a two-day visit.

What's on the agenda for German chancellor's visit to Sweden?

Scholz was to visit the Stockholm headquarters of telecommunications giant Ericsson on Monday, accompanied by the prime ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

They were to “discuss security policy issues such as hybrid threats, civil preparedness and new technologies,” the Swedish government said in a statement.

A press conference was to follow just before 6pm.

“At a dinner that evening, discussions will centre on continued support to Ukraine,” the government said, as Russian troops launched a major ground operation against Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region amid Kyiv’s struggles with Western aid delays.

The Nordic countries and Germany have been among Ukraine’s biggest donors since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

Berlin is the world’s second biggest donor to Ukraine, giving 14.5 billion euros so far, according to the Kiel Institute.

“Security policy and the upcoming Nato summit will top the agenda,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote in a piece published in financial daily Dagens Industri on Monday.

“Financial competitiveness issues” will also be discussed, he said, noting that “the Nordic region wants to play a key role in efforts to strengthen the European economy”.

On Tuesday, Kristersson and Scholz were scheduled to hold bilateral talks and visit the Norrsken Foundation, which supports young growth companies active in the green and digital transition.

Afterwards the two leaders were to sign a “strategic innovation partnership” between Germany and Sweden.

The visit was to be their first bilateral meeting since Sweden joined Nato in March 2024.

The next Nato summit will take place July 9th-11th in Washington.

“Sweden has, and must have, a clear international voice in the world,” Kristersson wrote in Dagens Industri.

The Scandinavian country has enjoyed decades of strong cooperation with Nordic and Baltic countries, and with intensified collaboration “with two other Baltic Sea countries, Poland and Germany, our region will be safer and stronger”, he said.

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