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Sweden and Finland have updated their civil preparedness guidelines to help citizens prepare for war, power outages, and extreme weather, against the backdrop of Ukraine conflict.
Aftermath of a Russian missile strike in Ukraine (Photo: Reuters)
As NATO allies bolster defence measures against the backdrop of the Ukraine conflict, Sweden and Finland have sent out updated civil preparedness guidelines to their citizens on how to survive war.
From stockpiling bottled water and sanitary products to growing edible foodstuffs at home, the brochures also include advice for parents and caregivers, instructing people to preserve diapers, medication and baby food, CNN reported.
Booklets distributed to millions of households in the Nordic nations include instructions on how to prepare for the effects of military conflicts, communications outages and power cuts, as well as extreme weather events.
According to the report, new advice in the 2024 edition includes evacuation tips, how to stop bleeding, how to deal with anxiety, preparedness for pets, how to speak to children about crisis and war, and how to support especially vulnerable members of the population.
Finland’s Ministry of the Interior also issued new crisis guidance, giving readers advice on how to prepare for long power cuts, water outages, telecommunications disruptions, extreme weather events, and military conflict.
The report also quoted the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), a governmental agency that compiled the pamphlet, and said that the Swedish government will distribute “Om krisen eller kriget kommer” (If crisis or war comes), to all five million households over two weeks from November 18.
The fifth version of the Swedish brochure, which was first published in World War II, will place “greater emphasis on preparing for war,” a statement from the MSB said, the report stated.
“The state of the world has worsened drastically in recent years. War is being waged in our vicinity. Extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common. Terror threats, cyberattacks, and disinformation campaigns are being used to undermine and influence us,” the report quoted a statement on the MSB website.
“To resist these threats, we must stand united and take responsibility for our country. If we are attacked, everyone must help defend Sweden’s independence and our democracy. We build resilience every day – together,” it stated.
According to the Associated Press, the guidelines are similar to those in Denmark and Norway, though none mentions Russia by name, and the updated Swedish guide explains how to respond to an attack with nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.
“Take cover in the same way as with an airstrike. Shelters provide the best protection. After a couple of days, the radiation has decreased sharply,” the guideline stated.
Sweden and Finland joined the transatlantic alliance in the past two years after Russia invaded Ukraine. Many European countries have since ramped up military spending to bolster long-term security in the region.
Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) land border with Russia.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR INTENSIFIES
Russia has intensified strikes on Ukrainian cities in recent days, with attacks on city centres and residential buildings that have killed dozens of civilians.
On November 18, a Russian strike in the eastern Ukrainian region of Sumy gutted a Soviet-era residential building and killed at least 12 people, including a child, news agency AFP reported.
The following day, on November 19, Russia warned that it would respond after Ukraine fired longer-range US missiles at its territory for the first time, as President Vladimir Putin issued a nuclear threat on the 1,000th day of the war.
A senior official told AFP that a strike on Russia’s Bryansk region earlier on Tuesday “was carried out by ATACMS missiles” — a reference to the US-supplied Army Tactical Missile System.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky accused G20 leaders in Brazil of failing to act over Putin’s nuclear threats, saying the Russian leader had no interest in peace.
