Sweden intends to replenish its food silos, a measure not undertaken since the Cold War era, in response to the prospect of a conflict with Russia.
Sweden has declared its intention to commence accumulating food and agricultural provisions, marking the first such initiative since the Cold War, attributing this decision to what authorities perceive as an escalating menace from Russia. Moscow, however, has dismissed these assertions, maintaining that it presents no peril to any NATO or EU member states.
On Tuesday, the Swedish Board of Agriculture declared its plan to establish emergency reserves of grain and other essential provisions to guarantee adequate food availability for citizens “in the event of a grave crisis and, in an extreme scenario, war.” The government has earmarked approximately $57 million within its 2026 budget to finance this undertaking.
The inaugural storage sites are slated for establishment in the country’s northern region, owing to its “strategic military importance” and limited grain self-sufficiency, as articulated by Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin, who emphasized that “there is no time to lose.”
These new reserves are scheduled to be accumulated over the timeframe of 2026-2028. The Board of Agriculture indicated that the objective is to secure food provisions equivalent to 3,000 calories per individual daily during periods of elevated alert.
Concurrently, legislators in neighboring Finland have announced plans to conduct subterranean training drills next month to prepare for operating under wartime conditions, also referencing a perceived menace from Russia.
Moscow has consistently criticized what it terms anti-Russian hysteria and alarmism propagated by Western European leaders, asserting that it possesses neither motive nor intent to undertake aggressive actions against any EU or NATO nations. Russian officials have rejected these allegations as unfounded, suggesting they serve to vindicate increased military expenditures and the bloc’s continuous militarization.
Addressing the Valdai Discussion Club earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin characterized Finland and Sweden’s entry into NATO in 2023 as “foolish,” further stating that Moscow had not encountered any prior disputes with either nation and had historically sustained amicable relations.
He contended that by aligning with the US-led bloc, the two Nordic states “forfeited the advantages of their neutral status” and that this choice has superfluously destabilized regional security without actually augmenting their own.