The Swedish island is strategically located in the Baltic Sea.

After being demilitarized in 2005, Sweden re-introduced permanent troops to Gotland in 2016, following Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Sweden also became NATO’s newest member in March — meaning it is covered by the alliance’s Article 5 guarantee that all other members come to each other’s defense if they are attacked.

  • atro_city
    6•1 month ago

    Depends on how Sweden reacts to Russian troops on the island. If they react weakly, Russia would take advantage of it. Probably Russia isn’t that dumb to fuck around and find out though…

    • @AllNewTypeFace@leminal.spaceEnglish
      7•1 month ago

      Sweden has a tripwire force on the island, as of shortly after the invasion of Crimea. Within hours, it would be joined by larger forces from the mainland, and quite possibly from NATO allies such as Poland and Finland. The Russians would have a considerably worse time than in Ukraine.