Story highlights
Sweden confirms that a foreign submarine from an unknown county was in its waters
Sweden considers it a grave violation
The military had been investigating for more than three weeks
A foreign submarine recently trespassed in Swedish territory, officials there said Friday, but they couldn’t say what country the vessel belonged to.
The Swedish military began an intense sweep of the waters off the coast of Stockholm more than three weeks ago.
On Friday, the Swedish Armed Forces announced that its investigation confirmed that a submarine was indeed in Swedish waters.
When the search started, the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported that the military became suspicious after Swedish intelligence picked up an emergency radio call in Russian. Russia denied that it had any vessel in Swedish waters.
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While confirming that there was a territorial violation, the military said that “the analysis cannot determine the nationality of the intruder.”
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven gave a warning to whoever the intruder may have been.
“The government considers this to be extraordinary serious,” he said in a news conference. “Those who consider to enter Swedish territory shall understand what huge risks it will mean in the future.”
He vowed to strengthen Sweden’s ability to identify illegal activities in its waters.
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Sweden used naval, ground and air military assets to investigate the report of the submarine, the armed forces said. One military observation determined, with “no doubt” that the foreign vessel was a submarine.
In a statement, the military declined to elaborate on its finding, saying it did not want to disclose details about its capabilities.
But the armed forces did say that observations from the public helped in their investigation.
CNN’s Brad Lendon and Ralph Ellis contributed to this report.