The Swedish government has announced a new package of military assistance to Ukraine this week. The new package included infantry fighting vehicles as well as an artillery system.
Sweden announced a new military package for Ukraine on Thursday worth $419 million. The latest military aid includes light and portable NLAW anti-tank weapons, mine-clearing equipment, and assault rifles. Sweden will also send around 50 of its Type 90 infantry fighting vehicles. The vehicles can transport up to eight infantry soldiers and have a 40-millimeter canon.
“Ukraine’s victory in this war is of almost indescribable importance,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a news conference, adding that Ukraine was fighting for the freedom of Europe. “That’s one of the reasons why so many countries are doing so much to help Ukraine right now. The moral support is important, but also our joint security.”
The government has not disclosed how many of its Archer artillery systems would be supplied to Ukraine as Sweden currently has 48 of the systems, a vehicle-mounted self-propelled gun-howitzer that Ukraine has long sought to obtain in its arsenal. Prior to the military assistance package that was announced, Sweden also announced around five billion Swedish crowns in military aid to Ukraine and installments of humanitarian supplies.
Sweden is currently holding the rotating presidency in the European Union and, as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, made a joint bid to enter the NATO alliance with Finland. The move shifted away from its long-running stance of neutrality.
On Friday, the British defense ministry said the Russian Wagner mercenary group is becoming more and more high-profile in the midst of Russia’s nearly 11-month-long war on Ukraine. The Russian Unified State Register back in December showed that the Wagner group had formally registered as a legal entity, according to the ministry, with the group citing that its core activity was “management consultancy” without mentioning combat services.
The ministry noted that private military companies or PMCs are still considered illegal in Russia and that it remained to be seen to what extent the “PMC Wagner Center” entity would be used to administer the group’s paramilitary activities, as its fighters are also fighting in Ukraine.
“Wagner’s owner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has likely partially funded the organization via inflated government contracts awarded to his other companies,” said the ministry.