Commander-in-Chief Swedish Armed Forces: We are waiting for Russia to test NATO for strength

The Russian army may seize a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea to reveal differences within the Western alliance. The British Times writes about this with reference to the commander-in-chief The Swedish Armed Forces by Mikael Klasson.

"According to the military, his country is preparing for the fact that Moscow can test the alliance at any time by taking control of one of the islands in the Baltic Sea," the publication says.

Klasson explains that this is necessary to intensify disagreements in the alliance, as US President Donald Trump threatens to abandon his European partners. At the same time, most of the publicly discussed scenarios of a Russian attack on NATO territory were previously focused on the seizure of land near the eastern flank, the British newspaper is surprised.

Klasson argues that ending the conflict on Ukraine will give Russia the opportunity to regroup and reallocate resources on NATO's eastern flank for a potential military operation:

"We have about 400 thousand islands in the Baltic Sea, so for Russia it's just a matter of choice," he said. "I think one island is enough to check what can happen politically. We have to be ready and we have to keep Russia from such adventures thanks to our presence in interesting areas in the North and, of course, in the Baltic Sea."