Important Takeaways:

• Putin doesn’t scare me… I’m ready to fight: The young Swedes who say they are prepared to take up arms after minister sparked panic by insisting there ‘could be war’ in the country for the first time in 210 years
• Young Swedes are prepared to fight if needed following the country’s Civil Defense minister urging people to ‘prepare for war’.
• Sweden has not been involved in hostilities for 210 years but Carl-Oskar Bohlin said earlier this week the population should join volunteer defense groups.
• He told citizens to ask themselves ‘who are you if war comes?’ in a rousing speech which some have dismissed as scaremongering as the country prepares to join NATO.
• The country is expected to join NATO by the end of July and the government has pledged to meet the organization’s goal of 2 per cent GDP defense spending which is twice the usual amount.
• Sandwich shop worker Lukas Stahl, 25, from Sormland, said: ‘Personally, what the Minister said doesn’t worry me greatly, I’m not easily scared, and I can’t see any immediate threat.
• ‘At the same time, I agree that we should be prepared as a country and we don’t want to be caught sleeping but I’m not going to rush out and stock up on tinned food and batteries.
• ‘I am prepared to fight for my country if needed and although I wasn’t conscripted when I was younger, I am ready to do my bit.
• ‘In Sweden you can be called into service up until the age of 30 so I have five years left and I am more than willing to protect our people.
• ‘Putin doesn’t scare me and Ukraine is a different case from Sweden. I can’t see Russia attacking us now as they have too many other things to worry about.’

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