1 of 3Photo: Maja Suslin / TT
Russia’s war against Ukraine has been going on for almost three months, and on Sunday a new demonstration was held in Stockholm with several party representatives as speakers.
The demonstration, organized by the Nordic Ukraine forum in collaboration with the Ukrainian embassy in Sweden, gathered a couple of hundred participants. Among the speakers was the Liberals’ party secretary Maria Nilsson, who demanded more sanctions against Russia.
– Ukrainian victory is the only acceptable end goal in this war. Sweden must not tremble on the cuff but needs to send more weapons to Ukraine immediately, she said.
Per Bolund, the Green Party’s spokesman, took the opportunity to give the other parliamentary parties a boot for the delay in stopping the import of Russian coal, gas and oil to Sweden.
“Fuel money goes straight into Putin’s coffers,” he said.
Sweden’s former Prime Minister Stefan Löfven (S) quoted Anna Lindh and called for continued commitment to the people of Ukraine.
– Abandonment is our main enemy. Enormous abuses are still being committed by Russia and the Ukrainian people are suffering, Löfven said.
“The right decision”
Löfven told TT after the demonstration that Sweden’s decision to apply for NATO membership is “the right decision in the current situation”, but that he has difficulty assessing how it affects Sweden’s opportunities to play an active role in the peace process.
– President Zelenskyj has recently said that a negotiated solution is needed. What it should look like and when it can get started I can not answer.
– What Sweden can play for role depends entirely on what Ukraine wants. I think that the management in Sweden is doing exactly the right thing by listening to their needs and acting on that basis, says Stefan Löfven.
More weapons
For the demonstrator Marina Bakuma, who fled the Cherkasy region in central Ukraine two months ago, Sweden’s support – not least militarily – means a lot.
– This is what I can do from my side, show solidarity with my people who are still in Ukraine and influence the Swedish government to continue to equip the Ukrainian army, she says.