Swedish Prime Minister condemns Russian invasion of Ukraine

Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, who had previously stopped short of describing Russia’s actions in Ukraine as an invasion, stated in a tweet this morning that “Sweden condemns in the strongest terms Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s acts are also an attack on the European security order. It will be met by a united and robust response in solidarity with Ukraine. Russia alone is responsible for human suffering.”

Andersson joins other prominent world figures in condemning the invasion, such as UN General Secretary António Guterres, who appealed to Russia’s president Putin to bring his troops back to Russia “ in the name of humanity”, and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who stated that the union would hold Russia “accountable”, saying that her thoughts were “with Ukraine and the innocent women, men and children as they face this unprovoked attack and fear for their lives”.

Swedish vocabulary: fördömer – condemns

Coronavirus Commission to present final report tomorrow

The Coronavirus Commission, set up in June 2020, is tasked with investigating the response to the coronavirus and evaluating the actions by the Swedish government and other authorities. It is headed by Mats Melin, an attorney who formerly served on Sweden’s top court for administrative cases.

Their first report, which looked specifically at the handling of the pandemic in the elderly care sector, was presented in December 2020. Their second report was presented in October last year. It highlighted significant failings in Sweden’s testing and tracing process, labelling its initial response to the Covid-19 pandemic “insufficient” and “late”.

The third and final report, due tomorrow, is expected to discuss whether Sweden’s pandemic strategy was the correct choice for the country, as well as who should be held accountable if not.

To answer these questions, the commission have looked at how Swedish society has been affected on a larger scale, such as public health, Swedish economy and individual finances, as well as a comparison with other countries.

The Local will be reporting on the commission’s report tomorrow.

Swedish vocabulary: ansvar – responsibility

Damages to apartment building stairwell in Malmö after explosion

The stairwell of an apartment building in the Rosengård area of Malmö has suffered extensive damage after an explosion. The entrance door was crushed in the blast alongside multiple window panes.

A large area has been closed off and emergency services arrived at the site early this morning.

Three people were trapped in an elevator at the time of the explosion, but appear to have been rescued unharmed, SVT reports.

This is the third explosion in Malmö in a week. There was an explosion on Wednesday morning outside an apartment building in the area of Gröndal, and another on Friday last week, also in Rosengård.

Another bomb was identfied in the area of Limhamn on Friday evening, but it did not detonate.

Police are investigating whether there is any connection between the bombings.

“We don’t currently have any suspects, and we cannot say whether there is any connection to earlier explosions,” police spokesperson Patric Fors told SVT in Skåne.

Swedish vocabulary: sprängning – explosion, detonation