Sweden's intelligence services (SÄPO) have warned of the regional threat posed by Russian intelligence, particularly in the Arctic, ahead of the country's potential NATO membership.
Sweden ended two centuries of military neutrality by applying to join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine. For its annexation, the Hungarian parliament is expected to hold a vote on Monday, the last hurdle.
Russia, like China, “conducts operations that threaten the security of the northern tip of Sweden,” writes SÄPO in its annual threat assessment report.
The accession of Finland and the expected one of Sweden expand the borders of the North Atlantic Alliance to the Arctic regions.
“Russia's interest in northern Sweden is primarily about Swedish military capabilities,” SÄPO continues.
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Intelligence chief Charlotte von Essen said the security situation had worsened since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
“Russia's all-out war against Ukraine continues, the situation in the Middle East is serious after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, and in Sweden, we raised the terror threat level last year,” he told reporters.
SÄPO assessed that operations threatening the country's security “are being carried out on a large front and foreign forces are acting aggressively”.
The agency mainly cites illegal acquisition of technologies of interest to Russia's military intelligence service.
Sergei Skvortsov, a 60-year-old Russian-Swede, was brought to trial for illegally transferring Western technology to Russia. The court accepted that the man had extracted the material, but ruled that espionage had not been proven and acquitted him.
In January 2023, former Swedish intelligence agent Biman Gia was sentenced to life in prison for spying for Russia.
On Monday, Sweden's Military Intelligence and Security Agency (MUST) also identified Russia as the biggest threat.
“As long as the war in Ukraine continues, Russia will concentrate its resources there, but it would be a mistake to think that a temporary reduction in Russian capabilities in our region gives us respite,” President Thomas Nilsson said in a statement.
SÄPO also warned about the activities of the intelligence services of China and Iran.
China benefits from “Swedish innovations, technological know-how and state-of-the-art knowledge in industry and universities,” the report said.