Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs says it is aware of the reports and is currently investigating.
A Swedish national has been detained in Russia, suspected of entering Russia in order to carry out terrorist attacks on military facilities, Russian news agency TASS reports, citing the press office of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, FSB.
In a public statement, the FSB said: “Under the pretext of joining the Russian Armed Forces, he was traveling to Russia to carry out sabotage and terrorist attacks on military facilities.”
According to The Moscow Times, broadcast footage showed the detainee identifying himself through an interpreter as 35-year-old Freddy Michael Stålkrantz Lindholm, answering questions about his service, while security agents displayed military documents and photos of him dressed in Ukrainian combat gear.
The Swede was arrested in the Pskov region near Russia’s western border.
Behind enemy lines
According to investigators in Moscow, the Swedish national spent months serving in Ukraine after signing an agreement in Ternopil with the Aidar battalion, a group outlawed in Russia as a terrorist organization.
Citing FSB data, TASS reports that the detainee commanded a Ukrainian unmanned aircraft squad for the 24th separate assault battalion between February and June 2026.
There, he allegedly piloted first-person view drones for aerial reconnaissance and taught newer recruits how to fly.
Russian officials insist their evidence leaves little doubt about his past actions.
As the FSB emphasized: “There are documents confirming his participation in hostilities against our country as part of the Ukrainian armed forces.”
Sweden investigating
In an email to Dagens, the Press Office at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs said:
“The media reports have reached the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Embassy in Moscow are investigating these reports.”
The press office notes that a detention abroad does not necessarily become a case for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
“Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, a state is obliged to inform our embassy/consulate that a Swedish citizen has been detained if the detainee so requests,” the email from the press office said.
