Defence seeks to expropriate property near Muskö base

The Fortifications Agency has applied to expropriate a property near Muskö base in Haninge Garrison, citing the Swedish Armed Forces’ protected interests and national security, SVT reported. The property is owned by a person with Russian citizenship.

The application is based on the serious security situation, the threat from Russian drones and the ownership of the property, according to a press release from the Swedish Armed Forces.

“Nothing is more important than Sweden’s security. We are facing the most serious security situation since the end of the Second World War, and the threat to Sweden and the alliance is real,” Lieutenant General Carl-Johan Edström, head of the Defence Staff, said in a statement.

The Armed Forces said the owner’s Russian citizenship constitutes a security threat and that it wants to take control of the property to protect the Armed Forces, Sweden and the alliance’s protected interests.

The property is also reportedly the only location that the Armed Forces does not control around the nearby Muskö base, preventing it from establishing what it calls an effective defence of the base.

SVT security reporter John Granlund said the property had long been a problem for the Armed Forces. He said the Armed Forces now considered the threat from drones that could be launched from the property serious enough for the government to forcibly purchase it.

The application for expropriation was submitted to the Government Offices.