The Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson joins us from the Nato summit in Ankara, to discuss how Sweden is preparing for war, and what Europe needs to do to meet defence targets.
This is The Security Brief with Christian Fraser and Mikey Kay.
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What Ulf Kristersson said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sweden has already decided to reach 5% of GDP in defense spending by 2030, five years ahead of the NATO agreement, with 3.5% plus 1.5% in broader security investments. He rejected the claim that Europe paid for Trump's war in the Persian Gulf, instead stressing the need to ramp up production capacity and provide Ukraine with air capacity, including pre-owned and new generation Gripen fighters. On hybrid threats in the Baltic Sea, he said the region is more challenged but also more protected and surveilled than ever. He praised Sweden's defense industry, including Saab, and noted strong cooperation with the UK via BAE Systems. He declined to advise the UK on defense spending, but said Europe must invest 5% of GDP because of Russian behavior, not American rhetoric. He affirmed full confidence in Article 5 and said NATO membership works both ways, with Sweden providing unique Baltic Sea capabilities.
Key takeaways
Sweden has decided to reach 5% of GDP in defense spending by 2030, five years ahead of the Hague agreement.
Sweden is providing Ukraine with pre-owned Gripen fighters in the short term and new generation Gripens in the longer term.
Kristersson said the Baltic Sea has never been as protected and surveilled as it is now, despite increased hybrid threats.
He affirmed full confidence in Article 5 and said NATO membership works both ways for Sweden.
He declined to advise the UK on defense spending, but said Europe must invest 5% of GDP due to Russian behavior.
1:34So I'm just wondering, did Europe just pay for Trump's war in the Persian Gulf?
2:43Is it possible to bridge the gap without US manufacturers?
3:43... test NATO with a deniable gray zone incident, hybrid warfare for example, or we're talking about Narva in Estonia or the Suwalki Gap in between Lithuania and Poland, would you trust Trump's America to actually show up to such an incident?
5:35Why do you think 75% of Europe's money for defense still goes to non-European suppliers?
Sweden gave up 200 years of neutrality to join NATO. And unlike much of the alliance, it is now moving at speed to match the threat it believes Russia presents. Defense spending has hit 2.8% of GDP this year. It will be at 3.1% by 2028. But Sweden isn't just spending, it's mobilizing. Every citizen between 16 and 70 is now legally required to serve in war or crisis, a posture most NATO members can only talk about. In May, Stockholm signed a $4 billion deal with France's Naval Group for four new frigates, tripling its naval air defense capacity, and it needs it because Sweden sits on NATO's new front line.
Yeah, it is. We have made the decisions already to reach the 5%. That means 3.5% plus the 1.5% in a kind of broader security investments by 2030. That's even five years ahead of the requirements or ahead of the agreement we made last year in The Hague. So I think it's very possible and very necessary.
Prime Minister, it's Mikey. I want to talk about Sweden's contribution to the prioritized Ukraine requirements list to Pearl. You've paid in over 400 million since Pearl started, and yet 1,800 PAC Patriot interceptors were expended in the first 16 days of Operation Epic Fury. So I'm just wondering, did Europe just pay for Trump's war in the Persian Gulf?
No, we did not. But it does underline the necessity of ramping up production capacity. Obviously right now I think most of us realize that Ukraine is in a far better position than it was just a few months ago. Russia is obviously not winning this war, but they suffer a lot from long-distance attacks from Russia and they need to be able to defend themselves. So we really need to step up both in the purchasing of these defensive weapons, but also in the production capacities so there are things to deliver to Ukraine.
Well, I cannot really tell. Obviously quite a few of these weapons are US-made and right now only US-made. And if there are possibilities to increase that production in the US or elsewhere, that will be of great importance to Ukraine. But so far we have managed to slowly but surely provide Ukraine with what they need, and they have been very skilled in using them. And different countries can provide different equipment. And right now we are focusing on providing Ukraine with increased air capacity, both in the short term with pre-owned Gripen fighters and in the longer term with the new generation Gripen fighters.
Prime Minister, I just want to turn to Gotland, the island off your coast, and sort of how crucial it is to NATO defense. If Russia decides to test NATO with a deniable gray zone incident, hybrid warfare for example, or we're talking about Narva in Estonia or the Suwalki Gap in between Lithuania and Poland, would you trust Trump's America to actually show up to such an incident?
I think we are all prepared for a great variety of different hybrid threats from Russia right now. And I think all the countries in Russia's neighborhood are very well aware of those risks, and we are actually also acting accordingly. I think it's fair to say that the Baltic Sea has probably never in modern times been more challenged and more questioned than it is today. That goes, I mean, obvious things like constant cables, underwater cables being destroyed, and the shadow fleet acting in a very reckless way. But on the other hand, the Baltic Sea hasn't been as protected and as surveilled as it is right now, underwater and in the skies and also on the sea. So I think we are acting accordingly, but hybrid threats are complicated. That's almost the definition of hybrid threats. You shouldn't really know. But the last years have taught us a lot on how to act and act calm but firmly on these threats.
10 more exchanges in this transcript
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Kristersson, U. (2026, July 7). How Sweden is readying for a potential war with Russia | The Security Brief [Interview transcript]. BBC News. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2959655/
MLA
Ulf Kristersson. "How Sweden is readying for a potential war with Russia | The Security Brief." BBC News, 7 Jul. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2959655/.
BibTeX
@misc{kristersson2026_2959655,
author = {Ulf Kristersson},
title = {How Sweden is readying for a potential war with Russia | The Security Brief},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, BBC News. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {jul},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2959655/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
