Sweden's support to Ukraine

Iran: Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union

Today, 9 September, the Swedish Government presented Sweden’s 17th military support package to Ukraine. The package, worth SEK 4.6 billion, meets Ukraine’s military needs and creates freedom of action for the future. It includes donations of materiel, direct procurement, material units and financial contributions.  

The Government has approved an additional SEK 500 million in support for heating and electricity supply in Ukraine. According to World Bank calculations, the support could help generate electricity for 185 000 people, making this Sweden’s largest contribution yet to Ukrainian energy supply. 

The Government has approved SEK 2 million in support to the inhabitants of Gammalsvenskby in Ukraine. The village, which was founded by Swedes in 1782, has been under immense pressure since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The new support will be used to meet the inhabitants’ immediate needs during the winter. The initiative also means that the village’s children will have the opportunity to attend a summer camp on Gotland next year. The support is a first step in Sweden’s commitment to rebuilding the village’s cultural heritage in the long term.

Mr Pål Jonson, Minister for Defence, Sweden, today had a bilateral meeting with Ms Jana Černochová, Minister for Defence, Czech Republic, during the security conference GLOBSEC Forum, which is taking place from 30 August to 1 September in Prague. A Joint Declaration on the Enhancement of Defence Cooperation was signed.

Today, the Government has appointed Ulrik Tideström as special envoy for Ukraine’s reconstruction, business sector and development.

Opinion piece by Minister for Finance Elisabeth Svantesson and seven European finance ministers, The Guardian, 24 July 2024.

In the first half of 2023, the Government tasked the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) with conducting a survey aimed at people who have fled to Sweden from Ukraine. The Government has now received a follow-up report, which shows positive developments in almost all areas.

The Government has decided that Svenska kraftnät, Sweden’s power grid authority, may provide backup power generators to Ukraine, to support the country’s energy supply.

Through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) humanitarian fund, to which Sweden is a major donor, it was possible to provide immediate assistance to people affected by the missile attack on the children’s hospital in Ohmatdyt on 8 July. The Government is now preparing a decision to provide an additional SEK 5 million in urgent humanitarian assistance to the ongoing response. This support will be channelled through UNICEF and go directly to the affected children and their families.

Sweden will enter a coalition together with eleven other countries, which, through joint procurement, will support Ukraine’s armed forces with unmanned aerial vehicles – drones. Systems training may also be included.

The EU has adopted a new set of sanctions against Belarus, in response to the situation in the country, and its involvement in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. These measures aim to reduce the possibilities of circumventing the sanctions against Russia.

The first-ever Swedish minister-led business delegation visited Ukraine this week. The delegation was headed by Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Johan Forssell. In Kyiv, the delegation met with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and held roundtable discussions with a tailored line-up of Ukrainian ministers, including Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. The new Swedish trade office was also inaugurated.

The EU has adopted its fourteenth sanctions package against Russia in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The sanctions aim to further limit the Russian state’s revenues and Russia’s capacity to wage war, and they are an important part of the EU’s support for Ukraine. The new package includes stricter measures targeting the shadow fleet and imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG).

This year’s Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2024) is being held against the backdrop of further intensified Russian attacks against the people of Ukraine and its infrastructure.

June 11, 2024

On 10–11 June, Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Johan Forssell will travel to Berlin to take part in the annual Ukraine Recovery Conference together with Business Sweden’s CEO Jan Larsson and Director-General of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) Jakob Granit. This year’s conference will focus in particular on the important role of the private sector in reconstruction, the importance of international cooperation and the human dimension. During his visit to Berlin, Mr Forssell will also meet with the German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze. He will also visit the German Vattenfall office.

Friday 31 May, Prime Minster Ulf Kristersson hosted a Nordic-Ukrainian Summit in Stockholm. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Iceland’s Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson took part.

At the third Nordic-Ukrainian Summit in Stockholm on 31 May, the Prime Ministers of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland and the Presidents of Ukraine and Finland issued the following statement:

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson hosted a Nordic-Ukrainian Summit in Stockholm today, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the heads of state and government of the other Nordic countries taking part.