Sweden’s Defence Minister Pal Jonson has warned European nations to abandon their “peacetime mindset” and embrace “wartime readiness” in response to Russia’s expanding military capabilities and “provocations” against NATO allies.
Speaking in Berlin ahead of talks with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius on Tuesday, Jonson highlighted Russia’s advances in long-range strike weapons, electronic warfare, and its intensified military buildup.
“We need to adopt a new European mindset, from a peacetime mindset to a wartime readiness,” he said during a panel at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, affiliated with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU party.
Jonson pressed for stronger defence cooperation between Sweden and Germany, calling bilateral coordination “essential” in the face of growing security risks.
Intensified support for Ukraine against Russia
He also urged broader European unity in support of Ukraine, warning that the financial and military burden of aid is increasingly shouldered by “fewer and fewer allies within NATO.”
“We see Ukraine as the shield, or the sword, if you want to, against Russian military expansion,” he said, stressing the need to sustain Kiev’s defence as Russian forces intensify offensive operations.
His remarks followed a series of recent incidents that stoked concerns about regional security.
NATO members, including Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Romania, have accused Moscow of repeated airspace violations by drones and fighter jets.
Russia has denied the allegations as “Russophobic hysteria”.
On Monday, airports in Copenhagen and Oslo temporarily halted flights after unidentified drones were spotted in their airspace.
