Security does not come free: Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson calls for strengthening resilience of Europe and Ukraine
Europe must support Ukraine and strengthen its own resilience, mobilizing all available resources.
As reported by Censor.NET with a link to Ukrinform, this was stated by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at the Berlin Security Conference.
Assistance and support from Sweden
"We have been helping Ukraine from the very beginning. More than €10 billion in military and civilian support since the start of Russian aggression makes Sweden one of the world's largest providers of military aid, ranking sixth in the world in absolute terms," Kristersson said.
At the same time, he noted that if the partners do not agree on a reliable and long-term financial framework, funds for Ukraine will run out, and many good initiatives in various geographical formats will simply not be launched.
Kristersson emphasized that Sweden continues to promote the idea of Ukraine's membership in the European Union and is working hard to achieve a positive decision on frozen Russian assets at the next European Council meeting in December.
"If we really mean what we say—that Ukraine is fighting not only for itself but also for us, that it is waging a war that any democracy may be forced to wage—then we need to act more decisively. We really need to put into practice what we talk about at meetings. And I will still say that there is room for improvement in this area," the politician stated.
Europe must support Ukraine and strengthen its own resilience
According to him, Putin's ambition was clearly aimed at dividing Europe, but so far he has failed.
"European democracies have been supporting Ukraine for almost four years and will continue to do so. For Europe, strengthening this support is one of the most important tasks of our generation," Kristersson emphasized.
He noted that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine had destroyed peace and stability in our part of the world, but also had enormous geopolitical consequences for the international order that had ensured Europe's prosperity and security for many years after World War II. The head of government noted that it is still unknown when this brutal war will end, but it is clear that how it ends will determine security for decades to come.
"That is why we must support Ukraine and strengthen our own resilience and mobilize all the resources at our disposal, whether military, economic, technological, innovative, or diplomatic," the prime minister said.
He emphasized the need for a "real sense of urgency" to intensify this work. Kristersson noted that security does not come for free, and many countries have long been aware of this, especially those bordering Russia.
