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One small addition: Som thirty years ago, when I was part of a military exercise, the scenario was that the Soviets would come by parashutes and land on the huge fields around Örebro. Fast forward to todays situation. Those fields are now peppered with wind turbines. Same with just about all of Sweden's open area. So parashuting can only be a small scale thing today.
When you talked about an invasion from the sea you mentioned you mentioned how traditional howitzer based artillery systems can't be jammed/confused by countermeasures. The RBS15 anti ship missile, developed by Sweden, will automatically target any electronic warfare source in case it gets jammed. Meaning that Russia won't have a lot of them for long if they use them against the RBS15 missiles.
Johnny American here. 😅 Next door neighbor years ago who was a Swede. Polite, kind and hard as nails. Loved the USA. Could cook, do complex carpentry, logging, net fishing from a dory pushed through the surf(ROWED)out 10-30 miles, using nets HAND retrieved and arrive back home for supper. Took a lifetime to bring him down at 90+ years. We miss you "uncle" Nils! And oh yes Vlad, Good luck. Welcome to the NATO family Sweden!!
What? In case you forgot Finland lost to the USSR and had the Karalia peninsula annexed. Tried to reconquer it with Nazi help and lost again. Not trying to undermine the enormous death toll the Finns put on the USSR and it's tremendous fighting spirit and sound tactics but yeah let's not go over the top here
When i did my military service, there was an order that said in case of an invasion. Any orders to seize hostilities even issued by high command or the Swedish government is to be ignored. Never surrender. Always resist!
Even if Sweden wasnt a member of EU or now NATO, if they were ever attacked by Russia, you can be damn sure that Norway, Denmark and Finland would step in and help them.
Finland yes, because the countries have an agreement, but I am doubtful that Norway and Denmark would do anything except for Denmark blocking their water ways for Russian ships.
@@NUMMEHARBEN Agreements or not, there would be a sentiment towards helping Sweden right away. Denmark and Sweden may have fought the most wars in history, but today we see each other as family. The same goes for Norway. There is a special bond between Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
Dont you know that Finland used to be Sweden. That is until the russian tsar Alexander decided to get rid of the constant treath from Sweden, som the russian invaded the eastern part of Sweden and made it a part of Russia called Finland. It happened only 209 years ago and today Russia have former swedish naval bases like Vyborg. Unforturtunatly some of the swedish commanders didnt chose to fight when they had the opportunity so the russians could take Finland and keep it. It was a sad day to say the least.
@@magnusdahlgren3461That is in no way related to russia being unable to go through Finland and stay somehow able to fight against Sweden. Also, "being part of Sweden..." is extremely white-eashed version from the history where the Finland was invaded in the pre-1300's by Sweden, was to taxed to death and the male population conscripted to fight in the Swedish wars. And when russians attacked into Finland during the Northern War, Sweden packed their thing and left, leaving the finnish population to be massacred and sold into slavery. For years, Sweden did literally nothing but sat home and looked how more then 10% were killed or sold to slavery into russia. But as the Swedish said, "defense in depth".. That's what Finland was for Sweden.
As a 16 year old swede who as many others has been worried for our countrys safety, seeing this video has took off a HUGE weight of my shoulders and has made me see this "conflict" or whatever you now call it in a VERY different way than i did about 30 minutes ago, Thank you.
@@saintchristoffer Yeah, after you are occupied Russia will be happy. All Russian land is to be returned to Russia. Finland's illegal leave of Russia 1917 make it a former Russian land, and as it were it will become. Crimea and parts of Ukraine is also former Russian land, won in a war against the Ottoman Empire and has returned to Russian control. Finland is just in line to be liberated again from leftists and liberal laws that is tearing it apart without you know it. You have maybe little bit bigger army than Ukraine, but just like Ukraine has learnt the hard way, you do not have weapons enough and have to beg whole world to donate for it.. It works a few months but even America, the country that controls all of NATO states have decided to leave Ukraine to be liberated.
Please do your military service and be a part of those that can protect your country! It is not only crawling in clay but you will also meet people from all Sweden that will broaden your mindset and you might learn things that you will have use of further on in life. I learnt the most how to fight in the home guard at your age and in the military service I got special skills.
And another thing is that the nordic countries are extremely close. An attack on any of the countries would most likely trigger a response from all of them, making things even harder.
For others who might not know, there were talks of combining the airforces of the nordic countries into one united command in the scandinavian/baltic region, so yeah if Sweden was attacked at this point they'd have norwegian and danish F35s hanging in their airspace keeping it russia-free.
If there is something us Swedes have always hated it's Russia, not the people itself but the leadership and Russian government, they gave us a reason we took it. On top of that Finland was joining and our countries agreed that if any of our countries are to join we do it together
@@roboten98Swedes hate the russians aswell. I always hear people talking about how they are fantazising about killing russians and so on. Western chauvinism and racism is no joke
If Europe had been faced with the choice, if Sweden and Finland joined NATO, then the USA would leave NATO. Then, in their own interest, all European nations would have voted for Sweden and Finland to be admitted and the USA to leave. Sweden and Finland are much more important to Europe's security than the USA is.
As a finn I've always had this kind of love/hate relationship with swedes. It's in our nature and have to admit...it is hugely caused by our ice hockey rivalry. :D These days it is nothing but love as we stand as one
Same over here in Sweden tbh, don't think I've ever before in my 35 years have heard us been so positive and supportive of everything finnish, with the occasional light hearted jokes of course. But it feels like our populations are more united than ever
Now standing united again against our evil neighbour. We both know that he could never be trusted and he is a thief that force the victim to pay him for that he has stolen.
Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark in the same military alliance. I kind of start to understand the nervousness in Moscow, especially since they love to watch historic maps..
Sweden Finland, Norway and Denmark do kinda act to eachother like Europe as a whole, constantly bickering and making fun of and acting like they hate each other, but as soon as an outsider gets involved, we're tighter than anyone. Just look at poor Elon Musk :D
pretty much swedes gonig "damn finnish people fuck off!" then if finland gets messed with swedes go" mother fuckers messing with our frenemy? thats it they are so dead"
In Norway we have to do 1 year of army service and I always heard that the Swedes have a really good quality armed forces, not to talk about their weapons which a lot of it they produce themselves. Glad you're on our side brothers.
Norway is not any different. We spend as much money on the army, which means double the amount of money per capita than Sweden. The weapons industry is roughly the same compared to the country size. I think the Swedes are happy Norway are their side too.
Most people don’t know that IKEA furniture comes with separate assembly instructions only we can read. That Billy book case can also be rebuilt into a light Leopard tank. Add a Mölle chair and you have an AA turret. And did you think that cylindrical Åland lamp couldn’t fire a Carl Gustaf anti-tank round? Well think again. Basically, every household has its own arsenal.
Gonna call bullshit there !!! I know for a fact that it is not a light leopard tank sir. !!! It is only a armoured personnel carrier with a 12.5 mm machine gun. And the Molle office chair is not tall enough....you would need a Texas style office chair. I'm sorry , you just really need to get your facts right.!! . . 😂😅🤣😂🇺🇦 ....LMAO.
@@MP-ns3ci Does it hurt your feelings? Sweden doesn't even manufacture their own Gripen, they design and let others do the work for them. Work smarter, not harder.
@@MistrT4 No they are made in sweden, although different key parts is bought from allied countries. We make almost all our military equipment ourself tailor made to this guerilla tactics. Two examples that we buy are javelins and main battle tanks, a heavily modified leopard 2, but tanks are pretty useless in guerilla warfare in heavy forested areas anyway so they are probably going to be used just on key locations. Why bring a 5 tank crew worth several million dollars requiring lots of fuel and maintenence when you can do the same job with a 2 man crew manning a javelin or the retired swedish counterpart RBS 56 BILL.
@HartmutJagerArt Do you read russian history pages or the actual version that happened? As those 2 things are way different from each other. Technically Finland lost as we lost some territory, but we remained as independent nation, so its a win in that sense against much larger enemy. Invasion was so successful by russians that even Germans thought that they should invade russia. Here is a little WW2 joke to our Z fans, Finnish general Adolf Ehrnrooth was visiting in England after the World War II. British general asked him how many Russian troops were stationed in Finland. "A few hundred thousand" answered Ehrnrooth. "Where in Finland are they stationed?" The British general asked. Ehrnrooth answered: "Two meters underground around the border."
@@tatur.6347 - It is not funny to joke about dead soldiers! That aside, depending on where ones likes, dislikes, lies, truth and assumptions are, the Real Truth will always be debatable, especial;y when nationalistic pride gets involved !
If you think that in a neutral scenario, that Norway or Finland would just sit and watch Sweden getting railroaded...you are wrong. They would start to suddenly find lots of gear and volunters at the borders.
And also remember "The Finnish cause is ours", "Finlands sak är vår.". This, even if it was coined during the Finnish Winter War 1939, is still in the mindset of the swedish.
I spent 5 years there, ex wife is Swedish. Brother in law was in the defence force. We talked a lot cause I was in the British army for 7 years. Every single person I knew in Gävle and Sandviken( about an 1 hour north of Stockholm) owned multiple firearms. Swedes really like their guns xD I went to a few gun clubs myself
Hello friends! Thank you for your support. All western nations must stand together against this evil dictator that just wants to watch the world burn. We don't have nuclear weapons (they say) but I think Sweden has them.. because if Russia nukes us and USA or UK doesn't help us...we're screwed.
The whole "have to go through Finland first" is one of the most impressive understatements I've heard. Getting the Russian military into the Finnish forests is easy. Getting anything back out would be impossible.
Finland has the best army in the world. Sweden has the technology, and when it comes to defending, Sweden and Finland are two countries but one unit. Together, Sweden and Finland form one of the strongest defense units in the world.
Och tränat militärt i åratal. För gemensam försvara våra två länders gränser och de baltiska. Skulle tro att Putin sett Sverige och Finland som Nato länder hela tiden. Vi blir det nu bara på papperet
😅 to be fair I think best on the world is stretching it very far. They are very advanced but I wouldn't say 1st both are definitely advanced and superior to many. ❤️
Between 1321 and 1809 we were at war with Russia 14 times, the longest being 25 years. There's more than 100.000 lakes covering 9% of the land. There's mires everywhere, especially in the north where I am from. There are many rivers crossing the land from the west and out to the coast, a lot of bridges to blow up to make it hard for our old adversary. We have nature on our side.
Jag tror att om ryssarna vill anfalla oss så går de inte genom de öde bygderna utan direkt på städerna vid kusten vars hamnar de tar med hjälp av infiltratörer och deras sabotagegrupper. De kommer troligen även sända små grupper för att ta andra viktiga ställen och döda nyckelpersoner.
Being aggressive and banging the war drum is the only way for them to stay relevant. It's a shithole that can't compare to it's developed western neighbours.
When my young grandson was studying WWII in history, I wanted to help, so watched several documentaries on the Winter War. I’ve never been so impressed. So much admiration for the Nordic countries.
Dumb Romanian rooting for NATO and Sweden like it’s pornhub. As a Greek, Russia is our Orthodox Brothers and so are all Orthodox Christians, you are not a real Orthodox Christian if you don’t care about Constantinople. Remember when NATO bombed Belgrade? Ow the Serbs also don’t matter to you?
@@roundlake96if you dare to place NATO missiles on your land you will see to coming. Russia warned you not to get involved for your own good but you didn’t listen. Ukraine has nothing to do with Sweden and making yourself involved is you digging for the grave.
I still love how the Gripen is made with guerilla in mind. It must be mind boggling trying to think around. "Swedens defense doctrine is basically national guerilla tactics? So mostly armed civilian infantry in the woods?" "No, I'm talking a fleet of fighter jets that are the peer of the F-16 taking off from dirt roads all over the fucking swedish woodlands before landing on dirt roads to be refueled and rearmed at unmarked, mobile service camps" And thats not even talking about our self propelled artillery thats designed to drive through the swedish off-road, deploy, lob a barrage, and pack up and leave in 90 seconds. You aren't fighting infantry that appear and disappear like ghosts, you are fighting modern military hardware that appear and disappear like ghosts.
Don't forget that Sweden has modern APC's "STRF 90" with what effectively is a tank turret capable of indirect liked fire, so a group of them can target and attack from completely out of sight of enemy armor. And that's Swedens APC.
@@BadManiac Ukraine have gone on record saying that the CV-90 is their favorite hardware that they have recieved as aid. I only wish they could get Gripens as well because that plane was designed to fight this exact sort of war.
@@carljohan9265 Ukrainian pilots have already been training on Gripen for almost a year, at least in limited numbers. The Swedish government have so far not agreed to sending any planes since all political parties decided that was a discussion better left off until Sweden is a full NATO member because while I don't think that would trigger a Russian invasion, they might very well send a few hundred cruise missiles as vengeance. But I think it is just a matter of time before Ukraine receives a few Gripen. I don't think it will be that many, probably something like 12-16 planes because before Gripen E gets into service, Sweden don't have that many spare planes. I am however pretty sure that if Hungary had refused Swedish NATO membership, Sweden likely would have sent all the Gripen Hungary is renting when their contract goes out the 1st of January 2026, we also have a temper. I did my service in the Swedish Air force myself and yeah, the Gripen is built for this type of war. The reason the F-16 isn't a great fit is 2: It requires a pretty long landing strip and it is what they call a "hangar lady", it requires a lot of service and takes way longer to make ready for the next mission. A Gripen is ready to flay again after 7-12 minutes depending on how good the ground crew is. The F-16 is built with American doctrine in mind, you have many planes and plenty of huge air bases to operate from. We don't really believe in that, we hide our planes in small numbers all over since planes are most vulnerable on the ground. It is not something that would work for a nation like America but it has a huge advantage if we join a NATO war since we can spread out our planes while US and other allies can cram in all planes possible in our airfields, maximizing the number of planes if for instance Russia attacked Finland. Gotland is a serious threat to Kalingrad if Russia attacks NATO and Putin knows it. I think he thought that if he attacked Ukraine, Sweden and Finland would cover in fear or something but he instead made the Baltic a full NATO sea (and both Sweden and Finland do have some old grievances with Russia). It is a blunder in proportion with Saddam's attack on Kuwait.
@@thecreepycockney thanks! Yes I know already, but thanks for sharing your experience. I’m taking a certification while studying Swedish and improving English. I hope to move in Malmö by the end of the year. Italy is rotten.
At this point I would assume that if the Russians made it to Sweden through Finland it would only be because the Swedes begged the Finns to let some of them through so they could join in the fun.
Probably true Finland would be a very hard country for Russia to invade It is mostly dense forests and wetlands that does not play well with Russia's tank and artillery heavy military Not to mention that Sweden has one of the most capable air forces in Europe that would come to Finlands aid Which is one of the reasons that a sea invasion would end very badly for Russia as well
@@Djuuugarn I would put it this way. Having a smaller nation is beneficial for the people. The only real downside is security. But in the case of current day when Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark have very deep defense cooperation, may actually be more efficient than if we was one nation. Actually in a sense, i would argue that Sweden is possibly to big.
The USA left us too it in the first and second world wars and only got actively involved after they were attacked and if Trump is in it will be the same in WW3 . The Americans though are first at the table when it comes to their companies selling weapons and reconstruction. God help the world if Trump gets back
I am dissapointed that there is no mentioning of the Nordic Alliance. Sweden would not be alone and that was before they got into NATO. Vikings united 😅
Actually the Scandinavian countries were talking seriously about creating their own military alliance right after WW2, but could not agree. Then Denmark, Norway and Iceland joined NATO while Sweden chosed to stay neutral. Until very recently. Welcome to NATO dear Sweden!
@@joakimlindberg4894 well - i like the 3 monarchies... And historically we the Danes did screw over Sweden and Norway - if it could happen fairly Kalmar could be fun - but even in our countries we bigger about what is fair, so im guessing tha would be an impossibility... We do have the Nordic council though =) maybe they could get us more intertwined =) That said - welcome to Nato
And don't forget the "Whiskey on the Rocks" incident when a Soviet Submarine (NATO Codename "Whiskey") became stuck upon rocks within Sweden's territorial waters and that sub had Nuclear Armed Torpedoes onboard. And they even threatened to invade Sweden to take back their sub by force if they didn't return the sub right away.
As a response to that Sweden Navy/Army commander ordered the swedish navy to send out the war frequency to the arriving soviet battleships in which the soviets ordered their ship to stop dead in the water. As far as I'm concerned, Western/NATO countries and Soviet in that era had different frequencies when practicing combat and a "real" frequency that the opponent knew meant all out war. So they knew it was the real deal that time. If I recall it right the Prime minister ordered to open fire at will if the soviets crossed the swedish territorial water boundary. Sweden sent out their own submarine called The Neptune to meet the battleships head on, which it did, and ascended between two soviet destroyers pointing a bright hull-mounted flashlight in their faces.
@@ЕвгенийКоваленко-ш9жWhat about it? A problem was identified, unlike russia the UK and US can make sure that issue doesn't happen again. And probably did before the news became public. Tests are done for a reason.
@@Aethul-wd9ke No, the majority died in the great northern war and charles XII's campaigns. After that the viking blood was so diluted it didnt matter anymore.
This video is PERFECT for my children who are scared, really scared of Russia and war. We live in Sweden and I try every day to tell them we are safe but they don’t believe me. I think this can help so thx ❤.
Brukade också vara smått rädd för en invasion av ryssen, men nu står det rätt klart att de inte har en chans, men här är det tvärtom, nu måste jag övertala farsan att vi är säkra xD
I live in Canada and i use to be a bit scared Russia would invade but I thought where in nato we have the us blowe us don’t think that they would stand a gance im 10 and if Russia attacked I would be like give me a gun let me fight .
@@thecaptain5026 Gonna assume they weren't paying attention and took 'no thank you' literally and not in context; English is funny like that and can be easily misunderstood.
I am a Swede and i can say this if we would get attacked trust me all the people here would defend this country. We can shift just like that from being nice to being absolute brutal against invaders. This is in our blood and we will make our ancestors proud if we ever had to go to war. I'm not in the Swedish Defence but you will see Guerillas like me and other groups in the woods heavily armored and skilled in skiing and hunting, come and try and you see.. But i dont want war but just saying.
Just interested, did you renounce because of taxation? I don't know the specifics, but know that US citizens living in Europe must pay income tax to the US, on top of the taxes paid to the country they live in. It's quite rare system globally.
@@jarivuorinen3878 I renounced my US citizenship partly for tax reasons, but also moral reasons. I dislike the US and couldn't in good conscience remain a citizen of it knowing all the evil the US government has perpetrated over the last 200 years.
Is that using NATO 5.56mm rounds? In USA, these rifles are available using .223 caliber, which will fire in 5.56mm chambered rifles. However, 5.56mm will not fire in .223 caliber chambered rifles.
@@WSallai Depends on what AR15 you select, and if the manufacturer has tested it for the extra pressure. But most AR15 can handle both 5.56 NATO and .223.
I feel like the Visby Class Corvettes are missing here. They have five of them. They don't look like much. Only 650t of waterdisplacement make them look like dwarfs compared to russian warships. but they are designed for beeing used in shallow water. They are fast, manuverable and need very low water depth. They can freely maneuver in waters that are off limit for larger warships. They have stealth capabilities and are small enough to optically hide behind or even in front of islands ( if camouflaged). And they punch way above their weigth class. Torpedolauncher, anti ship missles, mines and air defense make them a serious threat even to russian missle cruisers. And due to their capabiltie to hide between coastal islands it is impossible to counter them. Every ship that comes within a 50km range of the swedish coast will fall prey to them. And even if the russians fire back, their radar and their anti ship missles will have a hard time staying on target between islands.
TL;DR. -Sweden is surrounded by strong allies -said allies are part of NATO -Sweden's mountains, hills, foress and rivers offer near impassable terrain -Sweden is perfect terrain wise for guerilla warfare. -Sweden has a lot of armed citizens -Sweden has a small and very efficient army with top-of-the-line gear -Fighter jets tailor made to be able to land almost anywhere and take off anywhere. -Sweden is surrounded by allies which means it can focus its defense without spreading out. -sweden is massive which would force invaders to spread out thin -unsinkable aircraft carriers in the form of a thousand islands, on lakes and on sea (gotland, öland)
There is a other weapon that is far more potent than any of those named. (and well Finland got the same weapon). The conscripts. This is what most people out side of Sweden and Finland don´t understand. Most people think of conscripts as cheap cannon fooder. That is not how it works in Sweden. Firstly all solders in Sweden are conscripts. That includes all the group leaders. It also include most (in a war like setting, probobly all) of the junior officers. How it works was mostly true between 1950 and 1995, and was to a much smaller degree true from 1995 to 2014, and is again since 2014 again increasingly true. (for Sweden, in Finland it have been true all along) The total defense plan start at 7 years of age. While the 7 year old is not part of the armed forces. They PE, school lunch and part of the school plan is optimized for later army recruitment. School lunch and also regular check up by school nurses is made to ensure that the children grew to there maximum potential. PE is focused, on the sport of Orienteering, Swimming, skiing, shooting (less so today) and general track and field. There are some team sports as well. Its also worth saying that Swedish children learn English at age 9 (officially) and German/french/Italian/Spanish/Russian at age 12 (in Finland, at least before, they was mandated to learn 4 different). At age 13 then its the first school separation. Basically theoretical and practical separation, but a bit more complex. Domestic science is also mandatory from age 11 to 14 (foucs on healthy eating) At age 16 there is additional separation. Then its basically separated in categories of job. Like nursing, science, technology, social or if you want to go into the trades you go directly into the trades at age 16 with a combined high-school and trade education. At 16 you can also join the home guard or the pre officer training Then the collage have access to your paper to make it possible for them to pre accept you to a education. In high-school there is the same PE as in elementary school but with also with a theoretical PE education for effective training and healthy eating. By this time you are a bit over 18 and the total defense force will call you over for a 2 day testing period. They test like 10-15 different things. Both academic and physical. They also have access to all your files. They have a computer system that does a multi variable analysis on your profile and test result and then suggest position you would be best suited for. And its down to the specific position of every viable position in the armed forces. The choice who have the best potential for every given position. Then after the computer selection there is a interview with a army MD that ask like general questions and suggest a position, typically its the position you will get. And that may be army, air force, navy, intelligence, command, home guard If you are selected you are bound by law to go and do service. Its worth saying that those conscripts are usually fairly well motivated as well. Then there is ~6 weeks basic training, ~8 weeks of officer training (only for officers), ~8 weeks of specialist training (only for specialist, like rangers), ~3 week of general training 3+3 weeks of primary and secondary role training, 4 week of full combat training and then there is a few weeks of like different training like special winter training and so on. Total the conscription is 10-18 month Like a ranger diver officer would typically have the longest training) Typically if you are a truck driver civilian, you become truck driver in army, if you are mechanic civilian you become a mechanic in the army. Me for example, i was not pre accepted, but had just applied for engineering and grown up on a farm and the officer that did my paper work he checked my grades and pretty much was "yea you going to get in" and put me on a army engineer as a machine driver (that was later canceled due to budget cuts)... And also yes, the submarine crew is also conscripts, as well as the air base crew. When you finish your first conscription you get a war time placement. Where the training staff evaluate what line they would want you in war. Then after your first service, you finish up your professional training, then work for a few years. Then the army calls you back for second conscription (typically a month), and you get a new war time placement. That would typically be paired with someone younger. There is a few more tricks. The Swedish CV90 have a Scania engine in it, and Archer have a Volvo truck engine in it. Because the same civilian mechanics that works on those very same engine, would be war placed to work on those very same machines. The kids that grew up hunting becomes home guard. The extreme sport kids become rangers. Every role in the army have a matching civilian profession as well as a sort of civilian interest. When Russian walks into northern Sweden. There will be 10 000 extreme sport people that have been Orienteering every week since they was 7 infiltrating there line and firering from behind. They will meet tanks and archer and CV90 driven by people that have driven trucks in the same areas for years. The crew commanders will be chess masters since they where 6. The intelligence guy would have learned Russian when he/she was 12. The army engineer will be the very same engineer that built the bridge that is now blown up. The coastal divers will be the local swim team. The sniper started target shooting in school, at age 9. There will be no front line. The ranger will just infiltrate and exfiltrate on will. There will be no airbases. The ground crew will switch position for every landing. Most of the equipment can scavenge parts from civilian vehicles. Finland have done pretty much the same thing. I´m not worried about the Russians. The only thing i´m woried about is that the fins will live non for us.
@@MYKOLA_SS semi-automatic, but as you probably know, they can easily be changed to full auto with a piece of steel wire. but, full auto is a huge waste of ammo because you have no control over where you place individual bullets so most end up between different targets. the only advantage of full auto is that the enemy stays still for fear of being hit while you move closer. completely unnecessary when the objective is to remain invisible and wait for the enemy to enter your ambush.
Actually every other home has a gun and American are not going to let some Russian take over. We also have lots of natural barrier that would make it much harder for a regular army to invade. Then the size of the country is another issue. It would be almost imposssible to do it physically which is why they try to break us down pitting American against each or the by trying to destroy our infrastructure by cyber hacking into our electrical systems and so forth. China was just caught trying to get into hack electrical companies by going through private router systems in homes.
the american population is the most terrifying thing in the planet (im Canadian) I couldn't imagine a worse hell then being in the russian army and attempting to invade US main land
Not only are Swedish combat aircraft designed for "STOL" Short Takeoff and Landing, and operation from small gravel roads, small gravel roads, along with many larger highways in Sweden, are designed to accommodate that. Also the very large force of guerillas in Sweden called "Hemvärnet" (The home defense), do combined arms training with the regular army annually. And every forest in the country is covered in camouflaged moose hunting towers, which the well armed local hunters are very familiar with after having hunted the land for possibly generations. Also, Nato or not, Sweden is close friends with Finland and Norway, so whichever country is invaded won't be defending alone. We wish Putin the worst of luck.
Thank you for this video! As one having spent 1½ army ranger years in those bogs and marshes (crawling with more mosquitoes than almost physically possible) I can safely say that it's not exactly a welcoming nature up in northern Sweden. And that's in the summer time, in the winter it's even worse tbh. :)
You have my deepest respect! I served with a couple of ''fjälljägare'' back in 1991. During a 3 week of winter training in Östersund (considered to be in the midst of Sweden) and the surrounding mountains, the final days we were up in the mountains practicing how to sleep over in snow caves when the weather is bad. We got it for real, and the morning when we were going back, we woke up to fog and absolutely no sight. I couldn't even see my own hands holding them up in front of me. Our instructors informed us that we had to wait for the fog to disappear, before we could go back, but our ''fjälljägare'' had another opinion. They convinced the instructors that they could find the way, so, with a rope connecting everyone, we went for a 6 hour ski tour in total blindness, straight to the house where we were supposed to be, not deviating from the path once. I knew that all our special forces get exceptional good training, not only to survive but perform missions during all weather conditions, but that was the most impressing show of knowledge I ever experienced during my time in the Swedish army, which I ended doing a tour in Bosnia, BA02. To me, an enemy with the wrong gear and not educated in the terrain of the north of Sweden, will be lost, cut off and destroyed by our soldiers up there, in mass. Back then I considered myself a pretty good and well educated soldier, being a conscript army recon group leader and a really good sharp shooter with an outstanding physical condition. BUT, up there in the snow and the harsh landscape offering nothing, I was completely lost. Deep forests and lots of lakes in the south was home to me. ...and our mosquitos is not that bad :) .Again, my deepest respect.
True, and that is why they would never make a full invasion from the north but they could possibly secure valuable assets up there. If they would attack it would be to occupy Gotland or possibly Skåne to secure the south of the Baltic sea and Öresund. So a full invasion I would not think...
@@Gamaoyabi Yes and no. First we (Sweden) attacked, then we had to defend those areas. We did, in the end, lose, of course. That's how it goes when a king decides to never accept any alliances.
@@FemaleSniper86there is no "yes and no". To put it bluntly, it was Sweden that attacked Poland in 1600, 1617, 1621, 1626, 1655 and 1702, in all cases.
As a Swede, with former military service, this makes me very proud. But above all humble and very glad over now becoming part of something bigger than ourself after 200 years and, togheter with all NATO members, protecting inocent states vs thug states and preserving world peace.
Nejmän det är ju USA som trycker på med att avancera kärnvapen mot dem för att de vill ha WW3 vi kommer in nu. Vi blir matade med 1 sida hela tiden. Jag tycker det är dåligt att försöka starta världskrig.
I have an issue with the premisse of the video. Sweden is under no illusion that we (as a country of 10 million) could withstand a proper Russian invasion, and we've never been. That is why the entire Swedish defence doctrine is centered around defensive combat. What would likely happen in the case of a full-scale invasion is that a couple of hundred thousand conscripts would be called in to service and then scattered around the country. There are hundreds of cold-war depots hidden around the wilderness all over the country since the cold war full of weapons, ammo, anti-tank mines etc. The idea being that we'd probaly hold out a month at most (assuming all allies are occupied elsewhere), and that the best long-term strategy being to make the cost of any occupation more costly than its strategic value over time. This is also why more or less the entire fleet consists of either submarines or stealth frigates - not to meet the enemy in any grand battles but rather wear them out over time with hit-and-run tactics. The doctrine was actually founded in the 19th century. For instance the first railroads connecting the far north are situated quite far from the coast. When they were first built it would have been much cheaper and efficient for them to be built along the coastal roads, but the army demanded that they'd instead be built inland, so that - in the case of a coastal invasion - the enemy couldn't capture the coast and the railroads at the same time.
They also produce Volvo trucks and cars, Scania trucks, Saab defence systems and aircraft. My Volvo S60 is from 2001, 330.000km, brings me to work every day 👍
Got to say, as someone who lives on Gotland, it is one strange time to see this much mobilisation but we do feel a lot safer now. Been sitting ducks over here for decades! Thanks for finally recognizing how strategically important we are, and not just your party island only important when the mainlanders want to go on vacations.
To be fair, Gotland has been of strategic importance to us for several hundred, if not a thousand years. ☺ Always has. Always will. Kärlek från fastlandet! ❤
I was angry when the troops that were stationed on Gotland was taken out 20 or 30 years ago because in the case of a Russian attack there would be small chance to get the troops back with Russian war ships in the waters there and their fighter planes in the air.
That last part about Gotland being an unsinkable aircraft carrier, and redeployment before a threat becomes reality happened in 2014, when Gotland was remilitarized in just a few weeks.
Holidaying in Finland recently - Drove to Lapland - Passing signs on the road where sections of road are designated as a landing strip for military aircraft .. Good luck Putin ..
Yeah military landing sites are pretty common here in finland. I remember that the way from my Home to my Fathers Home (wich is around 150KM) had 3 different military landing sites there. I also often see Military Aircrafts flying over our house even pre War between Ukraine and Russia.
Åland is an autonomous part of Finland. I also noticed that they missed the "part of Finland" when calling Åland autonomous. Åland is a part of Finland but autonomous
This is the irony, if Russia had left it's neighbours alone, they wouldn't be rushing to join NATO his own actions have provoked the very thing he says he is trying to prevent
Thank you for this real. This has been the most incredible information. I have heard about sw Sweden, Finland, and Norway. Period a little cause for optimism in today’s world.
In Russia can’t even move a tank column in a straight line on a flat road, then it’s pretty much h a given they wouldn’t have a hope on mountain roads.
The many times this narrator says Sweden is a small country is stupefying. I am sure he would never say that about Germany or Italy, whilst both are smaller than Sweden. Sweden is one of the largest countries in Europe. Yes, compared to Russia it is 'small', but every country, even the USA, is.
The reason why Russia sees everything as an aggressive action is because in their world view, it’s natural for them to flex around their neighbors, and their neighbors fall apart. So when their neighbors are part of a defensive alliance, they are unable to intimidate in their region. And they find that intolerable.
Let's not forget that northern Sweden has a harsh winter with lots of snow. If they can't get through before mid october, they would have major problems
Be wary of neutral countries, they don't get involved in wars, so tend of be rich, and are very aware that they need to defend themselves ... Switzerland, Finland, Sweden ... all have very ready, well equipped military, and a highly trained militia, and a well funded arms industry....
Theres is also loads of new applicants to the growing swedish home guard (more than can be taken in at the moment), and we are also getting upgraded equipment. The home guard battalions train guerilla defence in their home environment. We know what to do in case its needed. Our neighbouring countries also have similar home guards.
I am very paranoid about us going to war, especially since I live very north up and my city would be one of the first to be targetted and this video helped soothe my worries a bit, I thank you for that
Sweden is definitely a mjor asset to NATO. Sweden has one of the largest and unsinkable aircraft carriers, called Gotland, not to mention its wonderful subs and the very underestimated Gripen fighters and strategies.
As a swede, I think the general analysis is fairly accurate, if a bit enthusiastic at times. But it does beg the question, why did Sweden join NATO? We have no real use of it, because it's 100% unfeasible for Russia to attempt an invasion, and no other neighbor is a threat. The answer is firstly Finland. Before the war Finland and Sweden had a separate military alliance. Finland has a land defense force strong enough to deter Russia, but their navy, air-force, and surveillance systems are perhaps not enough. Sweden has those things, but the land force is tiny. In an alliance the combined assets are enough to make any sort of attack by Russia impossible. Both countries have developed their military's on this assumption for decades. However, the Baltic countries were not part of this, and were vulnerable due to the separate (but adequate) defense cooperation of Sweden and Finland. And the natural way to include them is by joining NATO. And if Finland joins NATO, Sweden joins and vise versa. Because the defense strategies are linked. At this point, joining NATO is more a show of solidarity than for protection.
_> And if Finland joins NATO, Sweden joins and vise versa._ You're actually a little late to the party because both countries have joined NATO already: Finland became an official NATO member about a year ago on April 4, and Sweden joined on March 7 this year.
@@drops2cents260 Hehe, reread the very first sentence on my comment. "As a swede". I'm well aware of when and why Sweden and Finland joined, and that both countries submitted their applications at the same time. My comment was an explanation of why Sweden joined even though it makes little sense on paper since Russia can't realistically attack Sweden anyway. A said, if one county joins, the other sort of have to join, because their defense strategies are based on being in an alliance with the other.
@@Superslemmet Okay, I may have misunderstood that sentence. My bad, no harm, no foul. _> A said, if one county joins, the other sort of have to join, because their defense strategies are based on being in an alliance with the other._ Well, NATO membership and bilateral defence agreements between states aren't mutually exclusive, so if only Sweden or Finland would have joined, they still could have continued their bilateral defence cooperation. On the other hand, NATO membership means to have not just one other country on your side, but all of NATO - which provides a _very_ comfortable amount of additional support if needed. _> it makes little sense on paper since Russia can't realistically attack Sweden anyway._ I'd say that depends. For instance, if Russia would attack Finland and Sweden would provide military support, Russia might launch retaliatory strikes against Sweden with cruise missiles and similar weapons - and in that case, I'm pretty sure that e.g. additional Patriot batteries from Germany, the Netherlands etc. could come in quite handy. In addition, if Russia would have any silly ideas about a maritime attack on Sweden, just the seven other NATO countries around the Baltic sea alone would certainly be a great help to stop Russian naval forces before they might even be within eyeshot of the Swedish coastline. So don't get me wrong: I have no doubt that Sweden and Finland together would be more than capable to repel a Russian attack if necessary - but having _even more_ countries on your side just in case is always better. 🙂
@@drops2cents260 At first glance your reasoning makes sense, but it feels like you haven't considered why these countries were not part of NATO until now. For both countries, it will be very expensive to rebuild their military infrastructure to comply with NATO. As an easy example, Swedish military aircraft are designed for dispersed deployment using short and hidden runways, while NATO aircraft are primarily based on the US model with very high maintenance and dedicated airfields or carriers. If we want NATO air support, we will need to rebuild a lot of our airbases for example. The second point is that Russia had no real geopolitical reason to attack when we had a separate alliance. If Russia would move in, it would be for similar reasons as why Germany attacked France through Belgium in WW1. Belgium wasn't an enemy, it was only about getting a better position against the 'real enemy' in that case. As long as the Swedish-Finnish defenses were strong enough that an opportunity attack to claim key islands in the Baltic would be too costly to be worth it, Russia would have no reason to attack, even in case of war with NATO. Now that we are part of NATO, we will be among the first to take hits in case of hostilities, while before we could probably have stayed out completely (I mean, this approach allowed Sweden to avoid war for 200 years). Being able to repel a Russian attack is good, but not being attacked in the first place is even better. The big difference now is that after the Ukraine war erupted, there has been a lot of talk about what the defense clause of EU membership entails in practice (it's not very clear), while both Finland and Sweden have taken a strong stand for Ukraine. So we are already 'hostile' to Russia now. Politicians in both Sweden and Finland sort of realized that even though both countries were neutral on paper, the world has changed so much since the 90s that neither were really neutral anymore anyway. Both are 100% part of the West, but with worse defense treaties.
So hello. Im a Swede. The official number from our ministry of defence is that we have enough military to offer a fighting resistance for about 1 to 2 weeks.... So no, we wouldnt "easily crush" a invasion.
@Imbamorial Actually, the first line of Finnish defence consists of Finnish black flies a.k.a. mäkäräinen to soften up the Russian forces as well as Finnish mozzies to finish them off. 🙂
Two points this video either failed to mention or glossed over. First and foremost it would be safe to assume that these hunters have mostly, if not all, gone through basic military training, just like a large portion of the population. Granted the vast number of reserves has declined by a lot since Sweden had the stupid idea to try and switch to a career army. However the most crucial part that the video either failed to mention or to understand is that Denmark, Finland, and probably Norway would never allow Russia or anyone else to invade Sweden before them.
