(STOCKHOLM) – Sweden will head to the polls on Sunday in an increasingly tight election, with coalition politics potentially placing the far-right Sweden Democrats at the heart of government for the first time.
The centre-left Social Democrats, led by Magdalena Andersson, hold a lead of just over three percentage points over the right-wing bloc. The party has dominated Swedish politics since the Second World War and is campaigning on increased welfare spending, expanded public services, and a return to Sweden’s traditional welfare state model.
However, the election is not a simple left versus right contest. Swedish politics is defined by coalition building, with four parties on the right and four on the left currently represented in parliament. The far-right Sweden Democrats, founded in the 1980s with Nazi sympathies, have moved away from that legacy but remain a controversial force. Since 2022, they have supported Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s minority government without holding ministerial positions. That arrangement could change: the party has stated clearly that any future support for a right-wing coalition would require cabinet seats.
Kristersson, defending his record, said international coverage of Sweden has shifted from reports of gang violence to stories of successful Swedish companies, NATO membership, and a thriving defence industry. “When they are not any longer being shadowed by daily or weekly shootings and gang criminality, we can really show what Sweden really is,” he said.
The prime minister also highlighted Sweden’s NATO accession, a process begun under the previous government following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A right-wing coalition involving the Sweden Democrats would prioritise law and order, deportations, and tougher migration policies, extending measures already introduced since 2022.
Despite their differences, all parties remain united on one issue: continued support for Ukraine. The election outcome on Sunday remains too close to call.
Ukraine Strikes Russian Industrial Facilities
Ukraine continues its offensive on industrial facilities deep inside Russian territory, targeting the cities of Tolyatti and Taganrog.
Ukrainian drones struck a rubber factory in Tolyatti, located approximately 900 kilometres from the Ukrainian border and home to Russia’s largest state-owned car manufacturer, AvtoVAZ. In Taganrog, just 40 kilometres from the front line, Ukraine hit a car plant, with blazes also reported at a nearby airfield.
The strikes form part of Ukraine’s dominant tactic of deep strikes, following Thursday night attacks on the Russian city of Saratov that set an e-commerce warehouse and a refinery ablaze.
According to Russian local authorities, three people were killed and three wounded on Thursday night in a separate Ukrainian drone attack on the central Tula region. Russia, for its part, killed two people on Friday morning in its assault on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
Putin Warns Against European Troop Deployment
The Russian dictator Vladimir Putin warned on Friday that any deployment of European troops to Ukraine would be tantamount to war against Russia, adding that Russia poses no threat to Ukraine’s European allies.
Speaking on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, Putin said European leaders are pushing their countries toward confrontation with Moscow. He claimed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won recent elections in Saxony-Anhalt because voters disagree with calls for confrontation with Russia.
Putin also reiterated accusations that European leaders seek to subjugate Russia and foster separatism.
Latvia Sees No Imminent Russian Threat but Warns of Hybrid Attacks
Russia is so bogged down and unsuccessful in Ukraine that it is incapable of opening another front, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa told TVP World, refuting the imminent threat of a direct Russian military attack on the Baltic states.
Her assessment may sound comforting, particularly after Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk received a detailed report from CIA Director John Ratcliffe about possible scenarios in the coming months. However, Siliņa says the threat of further hybrid attacks remains high.
“There is a potential for more hybrid or cyber threats, what Russia is very good at,” she said. “We’ve seen in Leipzig what’s happened. We’ve seen in other places arson activities, different sabotage, a lot of cyber activity which has become easier with AI coming into hand. So these are things which we all have to be aware of and there cannot be a weak link.”
Latvia has experienced a surge in irregular migration in recent months, which European leaders describe as a hybrid attack by the regime of Alexander Lukashenko. The country prepares for parliamentary elections on 3rd October.
“We share this concern that it is being used against us,” Siliņa said. “Then it happens in Lithuania, then it happens in Poland. This is a migration problem which is part of the whole hybrid attack. We all have to share this knowledge and help each other. We shouldn’t be alone in this. We have to be one strong border against the aggressor.”
Latvia is receiving support through bilateral agreements with Estonia, Lithuania, and Finland, all of which have sent additional border guard personnel. A similar agreement with Poland is expected to be signed this month. Latvia has finished building a fence along its 173 kilometre border with Belarus and is developing the Baltic Defence Line, a network of defences intended to impede a potential ground invasion from Russia or Belarus.
EU Approves €6.1 Billion for Ukrainian Air Defence
The European Commission has approved Ukraine’s request for €6.1 billion (£5.2 billion, $6.6 billion) to procure more air defence systems, including US-produced Patriot missiles, which the war-torn country urgently needs.
Ukraine has been urging its allies to provide more Patriot missiles as Russia intensifies attacks targeting civilian and energy infrastructure. The funding is part of the €90 billion (£76.5 billion, $97 billion) Ukraine support loan, two-thirds of which is earmarked for military expenditure.
The loan includes a stipulation that Europe be considered first when Ukraine looks to make purchases from manufacturers. However, Ukraine can apply for a derogation to secure foreign-made equipment if it can prove that no European equivalent exists or can be produced at the required scale and pace.
Announcing the approval, European Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said the decision to grant the Patriot derogation followed intensive discussions between Brussels and Washington.
Germany Backs Using Frozen Russian Assets for Ukraine
As war in Ukraine intensifies, European nations face a familiar dilemma: continue to accumulate debt or confiscate Russia’s huge assets frozen in Western accounts. Poland, the Baltic countries, and Sweden want the latter. Germany has now joined the renewed push.
According to Politico, Germany has joined a host of countries including Poland, Spain, and Sweden in pushing to disperse more than €200 billion (£170 billion, $216 billion) in Russian frozen assets currently locked away, mostly in Belgium, to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s brutal invasion.
The German proposal could replace at least part of the €100 billion (£85 billion, $108 billion) currently earmarked for Ukraine in the EU’s next seven-year budget and fits with Berlin’s position firmly within the frugal camp of EU members. With the Commission having approved another €6.1 billion for Ukrainian defence, the latest tranche under the massive €90 billion loan, political pressure is growing as EU leaders continue to hash out the specifics of the next seven years of spending.
“Excessive debt threatens our sovereignty and our ability to act,” said one EU official. “We therefore face the admittedly painful task of setting priorities, and we cannot avoid this by taking on new European debt.”
The shift in Berlin comes after a series of sabotage incidents blamed on Russia as well as a strong showing in Saxony-Anhalt, which voted firmly in favour of the far-right AfD. Most of the €200 billion in frozen Russian assets remains at Belgium-based Euroclear, and Belgium has firmly said it cannot be held legally or financially responsible if Russia were to successfully raise issue with those funds being dispersed.
Officials speaking on background said there is no way to keep approaching this issue in the same way as it has been over the past couple of months, ending up in a deadlock. Talks will continue over the coming weeks.
Houthi Expansion Threatens Global Energy Supplies
Disruptions to global energy supplies are intensifying as the war in the Middle East enters a new theatre: the Red Sea.
The Houthis, a Yemeni militant group backed by Iran, are playing a pivotal role in an expanding Middle East conflict. On Friday, the group captured a strategic island next to the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, a key choke point for shipments transiting the Red Sea, one day after routing Yemeni government forces from the Red Sea port of Mocha.
“The Houthis are taking over that, whether on behalf of themselves or on behalf of Iran,” said one analyst. “Them being in Mocha is a psychological panic for insurance and shipment companies across the world.”
The Houthi’s expanding presence in the region threatens oil shipments through what has become an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz. Oil flows through Bab-el-Mandeb reportedly rose to around 4.5 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2026 as producers and traders sought alternative routes during the Hormuz disruptions.
The Houthis’ primary target is Saudi Arabia. Last month, as Houthi threats intensified, Saudi oil shipments through Bab-el-Mandeb plunged to just 400,000 barrels per day, compared to a peak of more than 3 million before the war. At the same time, production by the world’s third biggest oil producer plunged to little more than 6 million barrels per day last month, down from more than 10 million before the war and the lowest level since 1990.
The threat to Red Sea shipping, coupled with renewed tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, drove the price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, above $119 on Thursday, the highest level since May.
“The global energy but also the question of the full security is dependent on the passages, safe passages or free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz,” said one analyst. “And this is happening at a time when the Red Sea is also under constant attacks.”
The result is higher costs for consumers and motorists around the world. In the United States, the price of diesel hit a record on Friday, with the national average topping $6 a gallon for the first time.
“Diesel is way too high, which means our food prices are high,” said one shopper. “I go grocery shopping all the time, so I still think they’re too high.”
With costs climbing and no end in sight to the fighting, the war in Iran could be a decisive factor in US midterm elections in November.
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