The Swedish Government has announced that it will donate its largest military support package to Ukraine worth Skr7.1bn ($684.4m).
“Russia’s brutal, unjust and merciless war in Ukraine continues and Ukraine’s need for support remains immense. This support package responds to the prioritised needs conveyed by Ukraine,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on 20 February 2024.
Among Sweden’s 15th package, there is a maritime initiative that includes Combat Boat 90s, small and fast motorboats (G-boats) and underwater weapons.
The package also includes artillery ammunition, an anti-aircraft system, light anti-tank weapons, recoilless rifles, hand grenades, medical equipment, medical transport vehicles, food, and financial support to bilateral and multilateral projects or funds. It also involves financial support to enable Ukraine to purchase more Combat Vehicle 90s (CV90s).
It is mostly managed through an additional amending budget that also includes the funds for support package 14, including an additional Skr700m in costs within that previous package. The amending budget amounts to a total of Skr8.2bn. The Government will follow up on funding of package 15 in the Spring Amending Budget.
With these measures, Sweden’s total military support to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022 amounts to Skr30bn.
Although, it should be noted that the Swedish Ministry of Defence added that all this equipment, in the support package, is currently being used by the Swedish Armed Forces.
“[We] have made the assessment that it may be donated if replacement purchases are made soon.”
Shoring up Ukraine’s defensive strategy
The content of this package indicates Ukraine’s defensive strategy, which the Ukrainian Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, recently stated:
“We have shifted from offensive actions to conducting defensive operations. Our operational goal is to exhaust the enemy, inflict maximum losses using our fortifications, out technical advantages, unmanned aviation, electronic warfare, and maintaining prepared defence lines.”
In that spirit, Sweden’s latest donation will bolster Ukraine’s defensive efforts as air defence components and ammunition will help to sustain the force’s ability to withstand Russian aerial strikes.
This has become even more significant this week as the Institute for the Study of War recently observed that Russian forces had “temporarily established limited and localised air superiority” during the final days of its activity in Avdiivka before the Ukrainian withdrawal.
