Hultqvist: It is not excluded that Sweden can manufacture weapons for Ukraine

During Thursday, defense ministers of 17 countries met in Copenhagen, during the Donors’ Conference for Ukraine. Sweden was one of the participating countries.

At the meeting, three main directions of long-term support were identified. It is about military training, demining and weapons production. The government announced last week that Sweden would contribute 120 trainers to the training of the Ukrainian army. Training efforts may be expanded further, defense minister tells SVT.

Need an artillery system?

Arms production for Ukraine may also become important in many countries. Above all, artillery systems are needed.

According to Hultqvist, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic have already reported that they can help produce the weapons.

– It is about using production lines in different countries to produce weapons that can be delivered directly to Ukraine, says Peter Holtqvist.

– We expect the conflict to be protracted, and therefore we believe that the deliveries made so far should be supplemented by direct production.

Weapons can be manufactured for Ukraine

Sweden may also contribute to arms production.

– That’s not something I would rule out, but it’s too early to say. We are involved in all three dimensions in a positive way, but in the end we will see how to bring them together, says Peter Hultqvist.

A fund will also be created, in which countries can contribute financial means for the production of arms to Ukraine.

Sweden has previously contributed weapons to Ukraine on several occasions. Among other things, thousands of anti-tank shots were sent to the country.

A new meeting will be held in September. Then the 26 participants in the donor conference will have to make more realistic decisions about the three areas.

During the conference, several countries pledged additional support to Ukraine in the form of weapons and money. According to TT, the equivalent of 15 billion Swedish kronor was collected. Britain also promised to send more artillery pieces into the country.