UPDATED THU, JAN 11 20248:22 AM EST
Ukraine war live updates: Swedish defense officials criticized after warning public to prepare for war; Kyiv rejects idea of cease-fire
This is CNBC’s live blog tracking developments on the war in Ukraine.
See below for the latest updates.
Swedish defense officials criticized after warning public to be prepared for war
Top Swedish defense officials have been accused of alarmism after they warned the public that it should be prepared for war.
Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin told a “People and Defense” conference last weekend that “there could be war in Sweden.”
He noted that it wasn’t his “primary intention to appeal to your fear, but rather to your situational awareness” and said he was trying to make Swedes aware of the potential for conflict, and to ask them to be prepared.
“I’m looking to open a door: a door that is frequently blocked and cluttered up with the demands and challenges of everyday life. A door that many Swedes may have kept closed their whole lives. A door to a space where we are confronted with an important question: who are you if war comes?” he said, according to a transcript of his speech.
Sweden applied to join NATO last year but is waiting for its membership bid to be approved by members Hungary and Turkey. Its neighbor Finland was admitted to the military alliance last year, prompting warnings from a Russian diplomat that it would be the first country to suffer if tensions between Russia and NATO escalated.
When asked to respond to Bohlin’s comments, Sweden’s military Commander-in-Chief Micael Bydén said he agreed with the minister.
“We need to prepare as far as possible, at all levels, throughout society,” Bydén told Swedish broadcaster SVT on Monday.
“I think you should ask yourself the simplest basic questions. If what happens in Ukraine today happens here tomorrow, am I prepared?” he added.
The officials have been accused of spreading alarm among the Swedish public, with former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson commenting that “war is not on our doorstep.”
— Holly Ellyatt
Top Swedish defense officials have been accused of alarmism after they warned the public that it should be prepared for war.
Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin told a “People and Defense” conference last weekend that “there could be war in Sweden.”
He noted that it wasn’t his “primary intention to appeal to your fear, but rather to your situational awareness” and said he was trying to make Swedes aware of the potential for conflict, and to ask them to be prepared.
When asked to respond to Bohlin’s comments, Sweden’s military Commander-in-Chief Micael Bydén said he agreed with the minister, stating: “We need to prepare as far as possible, at all levels, throughout society.”
In other news, two Russian missiles struck a hotel in the center of Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, last night, leaving 11 people injured, the regional governor said.
Elsewhere, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the idea of a cease-fire with Russia, saying it would benefit Moscow, giving it time to replenish its weapons stocks.
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