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Moscow has spooked the West by massing troops near Ukraine,
sparking fears that it is considering invading. Moscow denies
any such plans, saying it can deploy forces on its territory
however it chooses.
Gotland, Sweden's biggest island, is strategically important and
lies around 330 kilometres (205 miles) from Kaliningrad, the
headquarters of Russia's Baltic Fleet. In 2019 Sweden deployed
an updated ground-to-air missile defence system on the island.
"From today, we will have patrols out that will be visible in
certain places, including in (the city of) Visby," Gotland
regiment spokesperson Tomas Angshammar said.
Sweden is not a NATO member but has close ties to the Atlantic
alliance and has been beefing up its armed forces after decades
of neglect amid increased anxiety over Russian sabre-rattling in
the Baltic Sea region.
Stockholm has in recent years complained over several incidents
involving Russian military planes, including violations of
Swedish airspace.
Sweden's top military commander said last week that Sweden's
security strategy would be entirely undermined if NATO agreed to
refrain from expanding further and to curb some of its activity
in Europe, as Russia has demanded.
(Reporting by Helena Soderpalm and Anna Ringstrom; Editing by
Gareth Jones)
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