- Sputnik International, 1920, 25.02.2022
Russia's Special Operation in Ukraine
On February 24, 2022 Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev's forces.

Sweden to Send More Arms to Ukraine Amid Russia's Special Op

CC BY-SA 3.0 / Jorchr / MTB LAWThe MTB LAW anti-tank missile system
The MTB LAW anti-tank missile system - Sputnik International, 1920, 24.03.2022
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While the new arms donations to Ukraine have been supported by all Swedish parties with no exception, this unanimity is at clearly at odds with popular opinion, as only 39 percent of Swedes thought that Stockholm should assist Ukraine with weapons in a poll conducted at the end of February.
Sweden will support the Ukrainian military with 5,000 anti-tank rocket launchers, as well as minesweeping equipment, costing taxpayers something to the tune of SEK 205 million ($22 million), in accordance with a decision made by the nation's parliament.
Pansarskott 86 (international designation AT-4) are short-range anti-tank weapons designed and manufactured in Sweden by Saab Bofors Dynamics. A single weapon weighs 6.7 kg and measures 102 centimetres in length and can be used once before it is discarded. It can hit targets at a maximum distance of 400 meters. While its explosive power is not fully sufficient to knock out modern tanks, it can nevertheless destroy or deactivate armoured vehicles and fortifications.
The arms assistance is meant to help Ukraine against Russia's special operation aimed to "demilitarise and de-Nazify" the country, which Sweden, in line with the rest of the West, has condemned as “invasion”.

“We think it is extremely important to continue to actively support Ukraine,” Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist said, as quoted by national broadcaster SVT. “It is very gratifying that they can prevent the Russian plans for success in Ukraine”, he added, suggesting that Ukraine's struggle is a struggle for the European security order.

Hultqvist opened up for even more deliveries in the future.
This will be the second time Sweden has contributed military equipment to a country in conflict, defying its stated principles. In the previous delivery earlier in March, Sweden contributed, among other things, anti-tank weapons, helmets, safety vests and field rations. Subsequently, Supreme Commander Chief Micael Bydén confirmed that the equipment had arrived in Ukraine.
When it was decided at the end of February about the first delivery of 5,000 anti-tank rocket launchers to Ukraine, all parliamentary parties voted in favour, except the Left Party, which referred to the fact that Sweden doesn't send weapons to war zones.
For doing so, the Left was castigated by fellow MPs and the press, to the point of being accused of treason. This time, the Left voted in favour of sending additional arms to the Ukraine, meaning that all of Sweden parties are now in favour of arms assistance to nation in conflict.
However, this unanimity clearly contradicts with popular opinion. At the end of February, only 39 percent of Swedes thought that Stockholm should assist Ukraine with weapons.
Earlier, Sweden voiced plans to boost its own defence budget to levels unseen in decades, prompting comparisons to massive Cold War-era defence hikes in the 1950s. Additionally, the perennial NATO debate has flared up anew using the Russian operation as a pretext. The special operation was launched by Moscow after Ukrainian attacks in Donbass prompted mass evacuations of civilians, forcing the People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk to appeal to Russia for aid. Ever since, Moscow has stressed emphatically that it harbours no occupation plans.
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