Sweden prepares hundreds of nuclear bunkers amid fears of surprise Russian attack
SWEDEN is preparing hundreds of nuclear bunkers ready for a surprise Russian attack amid fears of a Cold War in the Baltic.
Sweden is preparing nuclear bunkers amid fears of a Russian attack
The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) has reportedly been tasked with reviewing the bunkers.
Swedish authorities built a network of 65,000 bunkers in the Cold War in the event of a nuclear war with the then Soviet Union.
MSB says the shelters can protect against biological weapons, fire and chemical warfare.
The MSB’s head of civil protection Mats Berglund has ordered a review of the Island of Gotland’s 350 civilian bunkers
The shelters are placed across the country and used during peacetime as regular rooms with the MSB poised to carry out spot checks.
With fears growing over Russian aggression in the Baltic, civil defence measures are being stepped up.
The MSB’s head of civil protection Mats Berglund has ordered a review of the Island of Gotland’s 350 civilian bunkers.
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Swedish troops have already been reassigned to the Baltic Sea island as the government reintroduces conscription.
Mr Berglund, told Sverige Radio the shelters on Gotland would be among the first to be checked.
The shelters on the island can protect 35,000 people.
Sweden is also bringing back conscription
Swedish troops have been deployed to Gotland where the bunkers will be inspected
It is thought Sweden’s shelters can protect seven million people of its ten million population.
The island, between the Swedish mainland and ex-Soviet Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, has been identified as a gateway for a Russian invasion.
Sweden plans to train up to 4,000 troops next year as part of its new conscription scheme.
The nuclear bunkers were built of thick concrete
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The troops, after undertaking psychological and physical tests, will serve for nine to 12 months with the long-term aim of encouraging them to join the military permanently or the reserves.
Military service was the norm for young Swedish men during the Cold War but conscription was gradually watered down after the collapse of the Soviet Union as war in the region looked increasingly unlikely.
But a resurgent Russia and tensions over the conflict in Ukraine have left politicians on both sides of the aisle looking to boost military capability.