The leader of Sweden’s Left Party has slammed the decision by Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson to break with the country’s tradition of neutrality and ship weapons and body armour to Ukraine.
Swedish Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar allegedly wanted to support the shipment of 5,000 anti-tank rockets to Ukraine, but the leadership board of the party rejected the idea, becoming the only party in the Swedish parliament not to back the shipment of arms.
Jonas Sjöstedt, the former leader of the Left Party, slammed the decision not to approve the shipment, which included 5,000 anti-tank rockets, 5,000 pieces of body armour and 135,000 field rations of food, saying “Ukraine has the right to defend itself. It is in Sweden’s security interest that Russia’s invasion does not succeed,” newspaper Expressen reports.
Left Party economic policy spokesperson Ali Esbati explained the party’s reluctance to support the move saying, “This is not an easy question. We believe that there are reasons to maintain the regulatory framework that exists for arms exports. If this is to be changed, a more thorough analysis is needed.”
“If you send weapons into belligerent areas, there is an increased risk that they will fall off and into the wrong hands,” Esbati said and added that the party supported financial aid to the Ukrainian government.
The decision to supply Ukraine with arms is a major break for Sweden, which has long maintained a neutral stance on conflicts in the past, staying neutral throughout many historical conflicts including both world wars.
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist announced that the country would be sending weapons on Sunday and it is the first time the country has sent weapons to a country in the midst of a conflict since the Soviet Union invaded Finland in 1939.
“Ukraine has wanted anti-tank weapons, protective equipment, ammunition, medical supplies, mine clearance equipment and more. We have consulted with other countries to find a balanced way for combined force to Ukraine,” Minister Hultqvist stated.
Sweden is not the only traditionally neutral country to take sides during the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Switzerland has also announced it will be joining the European Union’s sanctions against Russian individuals and corporations.
While Sweden has expressed support for Ukraine following the invasion of its territory last week, Prime Minister Andersson has been reluctant to open the country’s borders to Ukrainian refugees, arguing that other countries should take responsibility for the refugees.
Although Sweden has maintained an air of neutrality for decades, it has been a major weapons exporter, with domestic defence firm Saab developing advanced weapons systems. Indeed, the much-lauded ‘NLAW’ anti-tank missiles given to Ukraine in great numbers by the United Kingdom are a joint Swedish-British project between Thales and Saab.