Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
Russian embassy reacts to Sweden's Nato membership, hospital and municipality targeted in separate hacker attacks, and how much did the Swedish prime minister's new gym cost? Here's the latest news.
Russia threatens 'political and military-technical' response to Sweden's Nato membership
The Russian embassy in Stockholm wrote on Telegram that Russia would take "political and military-technical" countermeasures to minimise "threats to its national security", in response to Sweden joining Nato.
It added that the specific content of these measures would "depend on the conditions and scale of Sweden's integration into Nato" including deployment of Nato troops and weapons in Sweden.
Russian ambassador Viktor Tatarintsev has previously said that Sweden would become a "legitimate target" if it were to join the military alliance.
It's not the first time Moscow has threatened "political and military-technical" measures in response to Nato enlargement, including when Finland last year joined the alliance.
Experts have previously interpreted it as for example moving military units and infrastructure, and increasing military exercises, writes Swedish news agency TT.
Sweden is expected to join Nato soon, after Hungary ratified its application on Monday.
Swedish vocabulary: a measure – en åtgärd
Stockholm hospital targeted in cyber attack
Stockholm's privately-run hospital Sophiahemmet was on Tuesday hit by a huge hacker attack, knocking out telephones.
The hospital also shut down its computers in response to the attack, reports public broadcaster SVT Stockholm.
Sophiahemmet said the attack hadn't affected its healthcare services and nothing suggested any leaks of patient data.
It was on Tuesday afternoon still unclear who was behind the attack, but Sophiahemmet said it already had a system in place to be able to cope with incidents such as these, after a spate of hacker attacks against other Swedish businesses and public authorities.
Swedish vocabulary: a hospital – ett sjukhus
Swedish municipality threatened in Russian hacker attack
Bjuv, a small municipality in southern Sweden, is being threatened by Russian hacker group Akira, reports Dagens Nyheter.
Akira is threatening to leak stolen data in the form of "confidential documents, contracts, agreements, personal files" on Darknet.
The local authority is now working to prevent any leaks of sensitive personal information.
"We've been working since last night and this morning to see in our logs whether they've accessed anything specific," Bjuv's acting chief executive officer, Christian Alexandersson, told TT on Tuesday.
Akira was behind a major attack on IT supplier Tietoevry last month, which affected thousands of employees at Swedish businesses and public authorities. However, the attack on Bjuv is believed to be a separate incident, according to Dagens Nyheter.
Bjuv has a population of around 16,000 people and is located in south-western Sweden, near Helsingborg.
Swedish vocabulary: a municipality – en kommun
Hundreds of thousands of kronor spent on new gym for prime minister
A new gym built at Harpsund, the Swedish prime minister's official summer residence, cost 487,000 kronor, reports Aftonbladet.
"Apart from the prime minister (and their family) the gym can be used by staff (...) and visitors received by the prime minister. The training equipment has been bought with the intention that it will last, for future prime ministers too," a government spokesperson told the newspaper.
A total of 653,000 kronor has been spent on upgrading the gyms at Harpsund and the prime minister's central Stockholm residence, Sagerska palatset, since Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson took office after the 2022 election.
Swedish vocabulary: a visitor – en besökare
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Russia threatens 'political and military-technical' response to Sweden's Nato membership
The Russian embassy in Stockholm wrote on Telegram that Russia would take "political and military-technical" countermeasures to minimise "threats to its national security", in response to Sweden joining Nato.
It added that the specific content of these measures would "depend on the conditions and scale of Sweden's integration into Nato" including deployment of Nato troops and weapons in Sweden.
Russian ambassador Viktor Tatarintsev has previously said that Sweden would become a "legitimate target" if it were to join the military alliance.
It's not the first time Moscow has threatened "political and military-technical" measures in response to Nato enlargement, including when Finland last year joined the alliance.
Experts have previously interpreted it as for example moving military units and infrastructure, and increasing military exercises, writes Swedish news agency TT.
Sweden is expected to join Nato soon, after Hungary ratified its application on Monday.
Swedish vocabulary: a measure – en åtgärd
Stockholm hospital targeted in cyber attack
Stockholm's privately-run hospital Sophiahemmet was on Tuesday hit by a huge hacker attack, knocking out telephones.
The hospital also shut down its computers in response to the attack, reports public broadcaster SVT Stockholm.
Sophiahemmet said the attack hadn't affected its healthcare services and nothing suggested any leaks of patient data.
It was on Tuesday afternoon still unclear who was behind the attack, but Sophiahemmet said it already had a system in place to be able to cope with incidents such as these, after a spate of hacker attacks against other Swedish businesses and public authorities.
Swedish vocabulary: a hospital – ett sjukhus
Swedish municipality threatened in Russian hacker attack
Bjuv, a small municipality in southern Sweden, is being threatened by Russian hacker group Akira, reports Dagens Nyheter.
Akira is threatening to leak stolen data in the form of "confidential documents, contracts, agreements, personal files" on Darknet.
The local authority is now working to prevent any leaks of sensitive personal information.
"We've been working since last night and this morning to see in our logs whether they've accessed anything specific," Bjuv's acting chief executive officer, Christian Alexandersson, told TT on Tuesday.
Akira was behind a major attack on IT supplier Tietoevry last month, which affected thousands of employees at Swedish businesses and public authorities. However, the attack on Bjuv is believed to be a separate incident, according to Dagens Nyheter.
Bjuv has a population of around 16,000 people and is located in south-western Sweden, near Helsingborg.
Swedish vocabulary: a municipality – en kommun
Hundreds of thousands of kronor spent on new gym for prime minister
A new gym built at Harpsund, the Swedish prime minister's official summer residence, cost 487,000 kronor, reports Aftonbladet.
"Apart from the prime minister (and their family) the gym can be used by staff (...) and visitors received by the prime minister. The training equipment has been bought with the intention that it will last, for future prime ministers too," a government spokesperson told the newspaper.
A total of 653,000 kronor has been spent on upgrading the gyms at Harpsund and the prime minister's central Stockholm residence, Sagerska palatset, since Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson took office after the 2022 election.
Swedish vocabulary: a visitor – en besökare
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