Swedish intelligence believes Russia will remain a threat to its neighbours after Putin

Sweden's military intelligence believes the Russian regime is likely to remain a threat to its neighbours long after Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin leaves power.

Source: Bloomberg, citing Thomas Nilsson, head of Sweden's military intelligence, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The comments suggest that Sweden holds a particularly pessimistic view of its future relationship with Russia.

"We don't see this crisis as a temporary one; Russia has chosen its path, and there is no way back. We are in a strategic confrontation that is deep, structural and enduring – we can't wish that away," Nilsson said.

He noted that Russia's economy continues to struggle, while officials are manipulating statistics to conceal the impact of the four-year full-scale war on economic growth and inflation.

However, Nilsson said there is nothing in the near term to suggest that Putin's regime is under threat.

Quote: "Political opposition has effectively been eliminated – through exile, imprisonment, or, in the worst cases, assassination. There is no one capable of channeling public dissatisfaction into a political alternative."

Details: Opinion polls also indicate that part of the Russian population genuinely supports, if not necessarily the war itself, then Russia's ambitions "as a great power", Nilsson noted.

"We don't expect any dramatic change," he added.

Background:

• The Dutch Ministry of Defence recently described Russia as the principal threat to Europe in its plan for modernising the country's armed forces and defence sector.
• Earlier, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said Russia could stage a "false flag operation" to justify an attack on a NATO member state.

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