Swedish Parliament: Russian attack on our country cannot be ruled out

(Patria) - A report by the defense committee of the Swedish parliament states that a Russian military attack on Sweden cannot be ruled out, Swedish public service SVT reported on Sunday. Sweden has been working to strengthen its defense and applied for NATO membership last year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Sweden has been invited to join, but Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify the application, Reuters reports.

The parliamentary report, expected to be released on Monday, states that while Russian ground forces are tied down in Ukraine, other types of military attacks on Sweden cannot be ruled out, SVT reported, citing sources who worked on the report.

"Russia has also further lowered its threshold for the use of military force and shows a high appetite for political and military risk. Russia's ability to conduct operations with air forces, naval forces, long-range weapons, or nuclear weapons against Sweden remains intact," SVT reported, citing the report.

SVT says the report outlined Sweden's new defense doctrine, based on NATO membership, rather than the previous doctrine that relied on cooperation with other Nordic countries and the European Union. Like most Western countries, Sweden reduced its military after the end of the Cold War, but has increased defense spending and is expected to reach the NATO threshold of 2 percent of GDP by 2026.