Sweden announces new spy agency in rethink prompted by war in Ukraine

Published on 05/05/2026 - 13:52 GMT+2

Sweden's authorities said connected Tuesday it would propulsion guardant with a program to signifier a caller spy bureau targeting overseas threats, portion of a wider rethink prompted by Russia's warfare successful Ukraine.

The caller bureau would beryllium called Sweden's overseas quality work (UND) and would commencement operations successful January 2027, Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said astatine a property conference.

"During the ongoing warfare successful Ukraine, it has go precise wide that an accusation vantage and the quality to rapidly and continuously accommodate assorted method systems are conscionable arsenic important arsenic precocious weapons systems," Stenergard said, adding that the caller work would beryllium comparable to the UK's MI6.

Sweden already has a subject quality service, the Military Intelligence and Security Service (MUST), liable for overseas threats, arsenic good arsenic the non-military Swedish Security Service (SAPO) which focuses connected home threats.

Stenergard said the caller work would instrumentality implicit immoderate of the responsibilities of MUST and enactment intimately with Sweden's Armed Forces and SAPO, and the National Defence Radio Establishment (FRA) tasked with awesome intelligence.

In 2022, Sweden dropped 2 centuries of subject non-alignment and applied to articulation NATO successful the aftermath of Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine and Stenergard noted that arsenic an state Sweden faced "new expectations".

The state joined the information confederation successful 2024.

"As we present make our quality structure, we volition besides beryllium amended aligned with the structures that beryllium wrong NATO and among our allies," she said.

The caller bureau would beryllium tasked with identifying "external threats against Sweden".

"Its activities are to beryllium conducted done the collection, processing, and investigation of information," Stenergard said.

A measure is being sent to the Council connected Legislation, which scrutinises draught laws, with the authorities saying successful a connection that it plans to nonstop it to parliament successful June.