Developing Sweden’s Civil Defence: Lessons from Ukraine
With Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, war has returned to Europe and there is a very real risk that the security situation will deteriorate further.
This report, an English summary of a report to the Swedish Government (Fö2023/01325), concludes the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency’s (MSB) government assignment aimed at describing how the experiences and lessons from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine can be used to further develop Sweden’s approach to civil defence.
The report is structured along the lines of current Swedish civil defence objectives, which include the following capabilities, namely to:
- Protect the civilian population
- Safeguard the most important societal functions
- Maintain necessary supplies
- Contribute to Sweden’s military defence in the event of an armed attack or war
- Maintain societal resilience to external pressure and contribute to the enhancement of the population’s willingness to defend the country
The report also contains experiences from the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency’s (MSB) own operational activities in Ukraine in response to the war.
Three overarching lessons are of particular note when considering how to continue strengthening Sweden’s civil defence:
- There is a need to anticipate that the civilian population and civilian infrastructure can be directly targeted by antagonists in the event of war.
- Early preparations and planning contribute to wartime resilience.
- Civil defence requires society to both be adaptable and have endurance.
In addition to these overarching lessons, the report highlights several recommendations that are of relevance for the ongoing development of Sweden’s civil defence.
Even if the Swedish context is in focus, many of the lessons drawn in the report are equally applicable to other stakeholders working in different national, multilateral, and international contexts, including NATO and the European Union.