Russia will likely remain a threat to its neighbors well beyond the end of Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s presidency, according to Sweden’s military intelligence chief, Thomas Nilsson.Aboard a Swedish military vessel moored at the Baltic Sea island of Gotland, Nilsson said Stockholm does not view Moscow’s confrontation with the West as temporary.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“We don’t see this crisis as a temporary one; Russia has chosen its path, and there is no way back,” he said. “We are in a strategic confrontation that is deep, structural and enduring – we can’t wish that away,” he added, as reported by Bloomberg on Tuesday.Putin, who has ruled Russia for more than 26 years, is expected to remain eligible for another presidential term, potentially extending his rule into the 2030s.He has not indicated whether he intends to step down and has shown no signs of preparing a successor.Nilsson added that Russia’s economy continues to show signs of strain after years of war, adding that officials are manipulating statistics to downplay the impact on growth and inflation.He also pointed to Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries, which have contributed to fuel shortages and long queues at gas stations.“Don’t expect any dramatic change”Despite these pressures, he said Sweden does not currently see indications of regime instability in Moscow.“Political opposition has effectively been eliminated – through exile, imprisonment, or, in the worst cases, assassination,” Nilsson said. “There is no one capable of channeling public dissatisfaction into a political alternative,” he added.
Russia Remains NATO Threat Beyond Putin’s Rule, Sweden’s Intel Chief Says
Russia’s economy is under strain and data may be manipulated to mask wartime damage, but Sweden sees no immediate signs of instability in Putin’s regime.
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