Norway Wants To Lead A "Viking Bloc" For Containing Russia In Northern Europe

"Russian Ambassador to Norway Nikolai Korchunov gave a brief interview to TASS about bilateral relations. He warned that Norway is integrating new NATO members Sweden and Finland into the bloc’s regional plans. More American military bases and NATO facilities are

opening up there too. To make matters worse, 32,500 troops from 14 NATO countries in last March’s “Cold Response” military drills in Norway and Finland’s northern regions, which add to growing NATO threats to Russia from this direction.
NATO’s militarization of the Arctic, which also includes artificially engineered tensions over the demilitarized Svalbard Archipelago, is proceeding in parallel with its militarization of the Baltic.
Korchunov believes that this raises the risk of the bloc one day attempting to blockade Russia. He reassured his compatriots that the authorities will defend their country’s interests, however, including through military-technical means in an allusion to new naval escorts of some commercial vessels." ZeroHedge

Russia murdered Alexei Navalny with deadly frog poison, European countries conclude

"Alexei Navalny was murdered by Russia with a type of frog poison, the governments of the

United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Germany and The Netherlands have concluded.
In a joint statement on Saturday, the NATO countries said they were "confident" the Russian dissident had been poisoned by the Russian government with a "lethal toxin" known as epibatidine, which is found in South American poison dart frogs. The frogs aren't native to Russia." msn

Sweden intercepts suspected Russian drone approaching French aircraft carrier

"Sweden's military jammed a suspected Russian drone that was flying toward the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which was docked in the port of Malmo.
Charles de Gaulle, the flagship of the French Navy, arrived at Malmo as part of the Lafayette 26 exercise in the North Atlantic. The French military said that the drills are meant to strengthen NATO's deterrent and defensive posture." KI

Trump's new Board of Peace could tackle Russia-Ukraine war

"U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his new Board of Peace during a signing ceremony in Davos on Jan. 22, in an event attended by leaders and officials from 19 signatory states.
The new body is launched primarily to oversee the ceasefire in Gaza, but U.S. officials said it would be expanded to other conflict regions.

A White House official confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that the Board could play a role in other situations, subject to the chairman's discretion and the consent of the relevant states, without ruling out engagement on Russia's war in Ukraine.
"This is not just a 'Board of Peace,' this is a board of action," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after signing.
"It is going to be a successful effort, and you see it reflected here today among countries of different backgrounds from different parts of the world."
Countries represented at the opening ceremony included Turkey, Hungary, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Argentina, Pakistan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
Others, including Belarus, Israel, and Vietnam, have also said they would join the Board, while France, Norway, and Sweden have rejected." KI

Three killed in Sweden as Storm Johannes sweeps across Nordic countries

"A powerful winter storm named Johannes swept across the Nordic countries over the

weekend, killing three people in Sweden and leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity across Sweden, Norway, and Finland. 

Sweden’s Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) issued widespread alerts for strong winds as the system moved north. The storm, known as Hannes in Finland, also caused major travel disruptions, grounding flights and halting rail and ferry traffic." W

Storm Amy leaves 3 dead in Ireland and France, thousands without power

"Storm Amy (known as Detlef in Germany) became the first named storm of the 2025/26 European windstorm season.....At least 3 people have been reported dead due to the record-breaking Storm Amy that swept across Northern Europe through the weekend, causing hundreds of thousands of power outages in multiple countries, including Ireland, the UK, France, and Norway.....restoration efforts continue, with thousands still without power in the affected regions. France’s northern coast recorded its strongest winds during the storm, with gusts reaching up to 131 km/h (81 mph) along the coast and 110 km/h (68 mph) inland. The storm injured multiple people as it swept across northern Europe, causing over 500 000 power outages in Ireland, the United Kingdom (UK), Norway, Sweden, and France.
Amy provisionally broke the record for the lowest pressure in October in the UK after its minimum central pressure dropped to 947.9 hPa at Baltasound, Shetland." W

Trump is right, NATO chief reacts to US claims on Greenland

"NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte agreed with US President Donald Trump regarding

Greenland, particularly on the issue of defense, Bild reports.
"When it comes to defense in the Arctic, Trump is right. What I think is very good is that the Prime Minister of Denmark immediately began negotiations with President Trump. Essentially, it was about the high relevance of defense in the far north," he said.
According to Rutte, this applies not only to Greenland but also to Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Canada.
"We all need to work together to protect these territories. And Trump is right," emphasized the NATO Secretary General." MS

Swedish Troops Arrive in Latvia in Largest Deployment for NATO

"Hundreds of Swedish troops arrived in Latvia to join a Canadian-led multinational brigade along NATO’s eastern flank, a mission Sweden is calling its most significant operation so far as a member of the Western defense alliance." Breitbart

Sweden begins construction of massive underground nuclear vault that will last 100,000 years

"Sweden has broken ground on its ambitious $11 billion nuclear waste repository, where

highly radioactive material will rest in an underground maze of tunnels stretching 60 kilometers - longer than the New York City subway's longest line. The sprawling network, which resembles an elaborate waterpark park design minus the fun, will take a decade to build before accepting its first radioactive deposits. Nuclear waste management company SKB will oversee this complex burial, where spent fuel will be sealed in copper and iron capsules designed to safely contain radioactivity for 100,000 years. Each massive canister will be welded shut and lowered through the elaborate underground network." MS

Swedish Prime Minister believes that his country is now in state of "neither war nor peace"

"Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson believes that the country is currently in a situation of "neither war nor peace".
"Sweden is not at war. But it is not a state of peace either," Kristersson said.
"The Russian threat is a long-term one. And our defence planning must also be long-term," he added.
The prime minister noted that Sweden and its neighbors are now facing hybrid attacks "carried out with the help of computers, money, disinformation and sabotage threats"." MS

Sweden Starts to Search for Extra Cemetery Space in Case of War

"Burial associations in Sweden are looking to acquire enough land for something they hope they’ll never have to do: bury thousands of people in the event of war.

The search follows recommendations from the Church of Sweden’s national secretariat, which reflect crisis preparedness guidelines from the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) and the Swedish Armed Forces.
The preparedness guidelines have been put in a new light by Sweden’s decision to join NATO and tensions with Russia in the Baltic Sea region.
According to the Church of Sweden provisions, supported by legal paragraphs in Sweden’s Burial Act, burial associations are responsible for ensuring the availability of enough land to bury roughly 5 percent of the population within a parish, if needed." Breitbart

Second Baltic Sea communications cable damaged

"An undersea communications cable between Lithuania and Sweden has been damaged in the Baltic Sea. The damaged cable is one of the three that connect Lithuania to the internet. While overall data traffic throughput capacity has been reduced, connectivity for Lithuanian users remains stable." NV

NATO warships surround Chinese ship suspected of sabotaging undersea internet cables — ship allegedly dragged anchor 100 miles

"Two undersea internet cables connecting Finland and Sweden to Central Europe were cut last week, with authorities suspecting sabotage. According to the Wall Street Journal, investigators suspect that the Yi Peng 3, a Chinese bulk carrier traveling to Egypt from Russia and loaded with fertilizer, deliberately dropped its anchor in Swedish waters to sever the BCS East-West Interlink cable connecting it to Lithuania and then did it again the following day to damage the C-Lion1 cable between Finland and Germany. In total, they suspect the ship dragged its anchor for over 100 miles.

“It’s extremely unlikely that the captain would not have noticed that his ship dropped and dragged its anchor, losing speed for hours and cutting cables on the way,” said one of the investigators handling the probe. What’s more concerning is that the crew allegedly turned off the ship’s transponder during this time, making it impossible for the Automatic Identification System to track its movement. After the ship hit the second undersea cable, the investigators said that it zigzagged, raised its anchor, and continued underway.
Open maritime tracking sources put the Yi Peng 3 in international waters between Denmark and Sweden. However, it’s currently stopped and surrounded by NATO ships as the investigation is underway. According to one source, the ship’s anchor and hull have damage consistent with dragging and cable damage.
At the moment, Reuters said that Swedish authorities are talking with Ningbo Yipeng Shipping, the ship's owners, to sail it back into Swedish waters. However, since the Yi Peng 3 is anchored in international waters, NATO cannot force it to sail into any port under international maritime law for further investigation." MS

Shots Fired Outside Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden: Report

"Shots were reportedly fired outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, Sweden on Tuesday evening as Iran launched a barrage of missiles at the Jewish state.

According to a report from Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, a large police operation was launched after shots were fired near the Israeli embassy in Stockholm." Breitbart

Mali expels Swedish ambassador amid strained relations with the West

"Mali has ordered Sweden's ambassador to leave the country within 72 hours because of what it called a “hostile” statement by a Swedish minister, the government said on Friday.

Ambassador Kristina Kuhnel’s expulsion comes after Mali on Monday announced it was severing diplomatic ties with Ukraine. Bamako’s decision to cut ties with Kyiv prompted Sweden's minister for international development cooperation and trade, Johan Forssell, to say on Wednesday that the government had decided to phase out bilateral aid to Mali due to its ties to Moscow.
"You cannot support Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and at the same time receive several hundred million kronor each year in development aid," Forssell said on social media platform X. Mali and its neighbours, Niger and Burkina Faso, also led by juntas, have pivoted away from their traditional Western allies to form closer ties with Russia." AfricaNews

These NATO States Are Embracing Conscription, Eyeing Future War With Russia

"Outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has insisted, “Today, we have 500,000 troops on high readiness, combat-ready battlegroups in the eastern part of the Alliance for the first time.” But the bloc is struggling to meet its goals of assembling 300,000 soldiers prepared to be activated within a month and another half a million in six months. There is also a

question of whether the bloc can filed a military fit for a protracted war akin to the Ukraine conflict.
This year, for the first time since it was abolished in 2006, Latvia reimplemented its draft. Male citizens are subject to conscription within a year of turning 18 years old. Additionally, Norway has unveiled a long-term plan to increase its ranks of mandatorily conscripted troops, employees, and reservists by 20,000 as well as double the military budget. In 2015, Lithuania brought back mandatory military service in 2015, each year drafting 3,500 to 4,000 men between the ages of 18-26 for a nine-month period. Although the Finnish Defense Forces employ only 13,000 people during peacetime, Helsinki claims it has the ability to activate over 900,000 reservists with 280,000 combat-ready troops. Sweden conscripts both men and women, Stockholm drafted 7,000 its citizens and the military expects to conscript 8,000 next year. The Swedes have had conscription since 1901." ZH

Global confidence in Zelensky has ‘declined significantly’ – poll

"Some 46% of respondents have “not too much” trust in the Ukrainian leader or “none at all,” Pew Research has found. According to Pew, the results were mixed but only 40% of

respondents reported having at least “some” confidence in Zelensky regarding world affairs. The reported levels of trust were the highest in Sweden (80%), the UK (72%), the Netherlands (66%), Canada (64%), and Japan (63%).
At the same time, Hungary (83%), Greece (72%), Tunisia (69%), Mexico (67%), Malaysia (61%), Italy (60%) were the most skeptical of Zelensky.
In many places a large portion of respondents – including 45% in India and 38% in South Africa and Sri Lanka – did not express any opinion of Zelensky whatsoever. Asked about their nation’s level of military and other support to Kiev, some 24% of Americans said it was “not enough,” while 31% said that Washington was providing “too much.” " RT

Sweden Not Ruling Out Deployment of Nuclear Weapons in Wartime

"Sweden does not exclude a possibility of deploying nuclear weapons on its territory during wartime, while there is no such necessity in times of peace, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said. “We have two draft legislation prepared. According to them, Sweden says that we will not have permanent [NATO] troops or nuclear weapons deployed on Swedish territory in the time of peace … It is another thing during wartime. In this case, all NATO members will benefit from the ‘nuclear umbrella,’ which should exist as long as Russia possesses nuclear weapons,” the prime minister told Sveriges Radio." Sputnik

Ukraine ranks third in Eurovision Song Contest 2024

"The Swedish city of Malmö hosted the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 on 11 May. The crystal microphone trophy was presented to the artist Nemo from Switzerland....Ukraine secured third place. Ukraine was represented by alyona alyona & Jerry Heil, who were the second artists to perform." Pravada

Eurovision Chaos: Ten Thousand Protest in Multicultural Malmö Against Israeli Participation, Police Convoy Escorts Jewish Singer Eden Golan to Final

"Thousands of pro-Hamas protesters took to the streets of Malmö in opposition to Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest being held in the multicultural Swedish city.

Swedish police have estimated that between eight and 10,000 anti-Israel demonstrators gathered in the centre of Malmö to demand that Israeli Eurovision contestant Eden Golan be removed from the final." Breitbart