Swedish military seeks Russian-owned site by naval base

The Swedish armed forces said they had asked the government to expropriate a property owned by a Russian citizen near Musko Naval Base in Stockholm’s archipelago.

The military said the property is located at one of the approaches to the base and has “unique conditions” for strengthening its defence, particularly against drones. It said the development of Russian drone warfare had changed Sweden’s threat landscape and that measures were needed against aerial and sea-going drones.

The Swedish Fortifications Agency, which manages defence-related properties, requested on behalf of the armed forces that the government take over ownership.

Newspaper Expressen reported that the property belonged to Russian businessman Stanislav Aleshchenko, who it said has links to Russian President Vladimir Putin, although the property was formally in his wife’s name. Swedish media had previously reported that he was building a large vacation home and that the government had looked into ways to stop construction.

Chief of the Defence Staff Carl-Johan Edstrom said Sweden faced the most serious security situation since the end of the Second World War and that the threat against Sweden and NATO was real.

Sweden joined NATO in 2024 after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, ending two centuries of military non-alignment.