Sweden’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Mikael Klasson, believes Russia could attempt to seize Gotland in a move designed to test NATO’s resolve and see how the alliance would respond. Klasson made the assessment in comments to the Associated Press.

According to Klasson, such a scenario is entirely plausible.

His remarks came during NATO exercises built around a simulated attack on Gotland. The island was chosen for a reason: it sits in the Baltic Sea between Kaliningrad and Sweden, making it a strategically important point in the region.

The Associated Press notes that after the end of the Cold War, Sweden largely scaled back its military presence on Gotland. Russia’s war against Ukraine, however, forced Stockholm to rethink how it defends the island.

The report also says Ukrainian drone operators taking part in the drills managed to defeat Swedish units in the exercise scenario.

In April, Klasson warned that once the fighting in Ukraine stops, Moscow could regroup its forces and redirect resources toward a new military operation. In his view, such a campaign could be aimed at restoring either the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union.

Russia has repeatedly said it has no plans to attack NATO countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin has argued that Western leaders use claims about a «Russian threat» to frighten their own populations and distract from domestic problems. He has also said such statements have no real basis and are mainly intended to strengthen anti-Russian rhetoric.