During his press conference, the Minister for Defense of Sweden Pål Jonson stated that his government wants to change its policy of direct military assistance to Ukraine. In other words, instead of direct supplies of equipment and weapons, Sweden wants to organize production in Ukraine.
According to Defence24, this should be facilitated by Swedish government's decision that the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (Swedish: Försvarets materielverk, FMV), which is Swedish government agency, should start operating in Ukraine in the fall of 2024.
Read more: Germany Reveals the List of Military Aid for Ukraine: IRIS-T, PzH 2000 Included
In response to journalists' questions, the Swedish Defense Minister emphasized that in the case of the launch of FMV in Ukraine, it is about the presence of civilian personnel whose work will fully comply with international law.
This should act as a kind of "fuse" for possible attempts by the Kremlin to intimidate official Stockholm, which are quite logical to expect on the background of Sweden's intentions to produce weapons in Ukraine.
Pål Jonson also emphasized that the organization of defense production at facilities in Ukraine will help strengthen support for the Defense Force of Ukraine without reducing the operational capabilities of Sweden that has already transferred 16 packages of military aid and emptied its own arsenals.
At the same time, Jonson announced the decision to launch weapons production in Ukraine on the background of another important foreign policy event, such as the entry into force of the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between the United States and Sweden.
This agreement provides the US military with the right to access 17 bases, airfields and seaports in Sweden, and allows the US Forces to store equipment and weapons on Swedish territory.
Earlier Defense Express reported that Canada had confirmed full support for Ukraine’s use of military aid in russia.
Read more: The U.S. Weighs the AGM-158 JASSMs Transfer to Ukraine: What Is Special about These Missiles
