“I’m sure that Putin even has both eyes on Gotland. Putin’s goal is to gain control of the Baltic Sea,” Bydén, Sweden’s supreme commander of the armed forces, told newspapers of the German editorial network RND.
“If Russia takes control and seals off the Baltic Sea, it would have an enormous impact on our lives — in Sweden and all other countries bordering the Baltic Sea. We can’t allow that,” Bydén said. “The Baltic Sea must not become Putin’s playground where he terrifies NATO members.”
Russian shadow tankers have been a recent presence in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone off of Gotland’s eastern coast. The estimated 1,400-ship fleet operates outside the official maritime sector and isn’t officially part of any armed forces, so NATO has little power to act. Last month, Sweden said the European Commission would look into ways to deal with Russia’s shadow oil fleet in its next package of sanctions.
After being demilitarized in 2005, Sweden re-introduced permanent troops to Gotland in 2016, following Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Sweden also became NATO’s newest member in March — meaning it is covered by the alliance’s Article 5 guarantee that all other members come to each other’s defense if they are attacked.
But that has done little to stop Putin from taunting Russia’s neighbors in the Baltic.
“If Putin invades Gotland, he can threaten NATO countries from the sea. That would be the end of peace and stability in the Nordic and Baltic regions,” Bydén said.
