Nordic Countries in April 2026: the most important developments in security
Security in the Nordic countries in April 2026 centred on Russian activity in the Baltic and North seas. The Swedish coastguard boarded a tanker off Gotland that is subject to EU sanctions on 3 April, and Sweden later released a sanctioned Russian tanker involved in a Baltic oil spill and detained another ship travelling from Russia. Swedish Gripen jets intercepted a Russian submarine in the Kattegat, Norwegian F-35s intercepted a Russian Il-38 surveillance plane, and Sweden intercepted two Russian Tu-22M3 bombers over the Baltic. Russia accused Ukraine of planning attacks on Russian ships in northern seas with Norway's help, while the UK and Norway launched an operation against Russian spy submarines near undersea cables.
Drones and Russian warnings followed. A Ukrainian drone carrying a warhead was found on a Finnish lake, and on 12 April a drone warhead detonated in southeast Finland. Russia warned it could retaliate against Finland and the Baltic states for allowing Ukraine to use their territory for drone strikes, and Sweden cautioned that Moscow might seize a Baltic island to test NATO's response. Russia's ambassador said Moscow would factor Finland's possible approval of nuclear weapons imports into its military planning, and on 24 April Finland proposed lifting its ban on nuclear weapons; Russian officials said Finland would become a target if it hosted them. Finland's security police warned that Russia may be hacking routers, and Sweden said it foiled a pro-Russian cyberattack on a thermal power plant in 2025, which Moscow rejected as unfounded.
Rearmament and support for Ukraine continued. Finland ordered more K9 howitzers from South Korea in a 637 million dollar deal, and Denmark signed a contract for the SAMP/T NG air defence system, with the first delivery in 2028. A Swedish group plans a major munitions factory in Estonia. Norway and Ukraine agreed joint drone production, and on 27 April Finland decided to expand drone production for Ukraine and considered producing landmines at home. President Zelenskyy visited Oslo on 14 April. Yle reported that the US had suspended arms deliveries to Estonia.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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