We are under attack: We are sending warships

Kristersson said, regarding the strengthening of surveillance on the Baltic Sea, that "hostile intent cannot be ruled out" in connection with the suspected sabotage of submarine cables in the previous period, the "Guardian" reported.

Sweden has announced that, as part of the NATO action, it will provide three warships and one surveillance plane to monitor critical infrastructure and the Russian "shadow fleet", while the alliance tries to protect member countries from sabotage of underwater infrastructure.

Speaking on the opening day of the three-day annual People and Defense conference in Selene, northern Sweden, Kristersson said the country, like its neighbors, was "exposed to hybrid attacks" and "proxy wars," including the alleged use of members of Swedish gangs by Iran for committing crimes.

"Sweden is not at war. But there is no peace either. Real peace requires freedom and the absence of serious conflicts between countries. But we and our neighbors are exposed to hybrid attacks, which are not carried out by robots and soldiers, but by computers, money, misinformation and the risk of sabotage", Kristersson said.

He added that those who want peace must "be ready for war".

After speaking at the "People and Defense" conference, he told journalists that Sweden will also send an ASC 890 reconnaissance aircraft to monitor the Baltic Sea as part of the NATO operation.

Commenting on the investigation into the ship "Eagle S", suspected of damaging the cable between Finland and Estonia last month, he said that NATO is "ready to help", and that a Swedish rescue ship on the scene where the incident happened found the anchor.

"Sweden does not jump to conclusions or accuse anyone of sabotage without very strong reasons. But we are not naive either. The security situation and the fact that strange things happen again and again in the Baltic Sea also lead us to believe that enemy intent cannot be ruled out", Kristersson said.

Regarding the fact that the anchor had broken the submarine cable, he stated that "there is little evidence that the ship would accidentally and without noticing, drag the anchor with 300 meters of chain for more than 100 kilometers, not realizing that it could cause damage".

Kristersson pointed out that on Tuesday he will meet with the heads of state and government of the Baltic Sea in Helsinki, the capital of Finland.
"None of us is making frivolous accusations. But we all take it seriously," he said.

He added that Sweden, which became a member of NATO in March last year, contributes 2.4 percent of GDP to the alliance, which should increase to 2.6 percent in three years.