Sweden began rebuilding its total defense system after Russia's annexation of Crimea – expert
Swedish expert Magnus Hjort, Director General of the Swedish Psychological Defense Agency, said this in an interview with Ukrinform.
"We have been rebuilding our total defense since 2015. This was a decision by the government and parliament, and that was, of course, a consequence of events in Ukraine – Russian aggression, the annexation of Crimea, and further events in Donbas. We finally realized that this is for real, that this is a threat that we need to take seriously. I think Sweden reacted sooner than some other countries," Hjort said.
At the same time, he believes Stockholm should have responded even earlier – during Russia's war against Georgia in 2008.
"We didn't understand that this was just the beginning of Russia's aggressive actions and that they are really trying to rebuild their empire. And we should have understood that other countries will also be attacked," the expert said.
He stressed that Swedish authorities are primarily focused on building a strong education system – from preschool to higher education and the academic community.
"It's important to have academic freedom, to have research to build a stable society that holds together. A society that makes every citizen feel that they belong to it, that they are listened to, that they have a voice. We also need to have a strong social welfare system. A system of society that works effectively in peacetime and can work in a worse situation," Hjort said.
According to him, Sweden is also strengthening its military and civil defense, as well as psychological defense, which is part of the country's overall civil protection system.
"The media literacy system in Sweden is also part of this. So we try to build on different fronts or different levels all the time to strengthen our resilience, our knowledge, our critical thinking, so that every citizen understands that Sweden and Europe are in a different, difficult situation," Hjort said.
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