How the fuck is Putin supposed to take Gotland? Is the Russian Baltic fleet supposed to sail out of Saint Petersburg, pass within 50km of either Talinn or Helsinki without getting every single anti-ship missile in NATO launched at them and land every soldier they can cram into it's (on paper quite decent landing craft) and conquer one cement factory that I promise will never work again, and some wild horses and rose bushes?

Russia can barely supply it's troops by train against a nation without a real Airforce. How are they supposed to hold an island against inside lake NATO against a country with 2 fighter wings in easy bombing distance, and at least something of a navy?

On the other hand, the fact that they're doomed to fail doesn't mean they won't try, so I can't fault Sweden for getting some troops out there. There are probably worse posts than Gotland too.

Here's his justification, so he doesn't have to make one up out of thin air:

On 22 April 1808, during the Finnish War between Sweden and Russia, a Russian army landed on the southeastern shores of Gotland near Grötlingbo. Under command of Nikolai Andreevich Bodisko 1,800 Russians took the city of Visby without any combat or engagement, and occupied the island. A Swedish naval force rescue expedition was sent from Karlskrona under the command of admiral Rudolf Cederström with 2,000 men; the island was liberated and the Russians capitulated. Russian forces left the island on 18 May 1808.

So, you see, it was Russian territory for almost a month.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotland#Early_modern_period

Its position in the middle of the Baltic Sea and more or less off the coast of Kaliningrad would make it an excellent military outpost from which to control shipping and spy on their neighbors.

Their invasion of Snake Island went so well for them, I guess they’re looking for a repeat

This quote is out of context. The chief said "I am sure he has his eye on it" not "he does have his eye on it"

By some accounts, Russia would need to take Gotland before they could besiege the Baltic States. Though that doesn’t mean they’d have a good chance of succeeding.

The Chinese shenanigans are giving them ideas.

Now we face the endless question: is this a real threat or does Sweden's military want more funding? I genuinely do not know.

So he's distracted... 😏

Putin needs to speed up. He's 72 years old, Stalin was 74 when he died. And Putins idol Stalin was left alone after his last meeting, he had a stroke and no1 dared to disturb him fearing deportation or getting killed. History rhymes, right?

I kinda hope they try. Starting a second war while already waist-deep in Ukraine would be quite the thing, and the Baltic fleet will go the way of the Black Sea's.

Who does the island belong to? Wouldn't Russian invasion be akin to an act of war?

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has his eyes on the Swedish island of Gotland, warned Sweden’s defense chief Micael Bydén.

The Russian defense ministry announced a plan Tuesday to expand the country's territorial waters in the Baltic Sea near its maritime border with Lithuania and Finland, sparking international concern.

Putin's goal is to gain control of the Baltic Sea,” Bydén, Sweden's supreme commander of the armed forces, told newspapers of the German editorial network RND.

Russian shadow tankers have been a recent presence in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone off of Gotland’s eastern coast.

Last month, Sweden said the European Commission would look into ways to deal with Russia’s shadow oil fleet in its next package of sanctions.

After being demilitarized in 2005, Sweden re-introduced permanent troops to Gotland in 2016, following Russia’s annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

The original article contains 325 words, the summary contains 138 words. Saved 58%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

We all saw how well Ukraine's limited military operation went.

Russia trying to lose all their boats and subs as well as all their old tanks?

You know, he always seems to eye all these places that look so peaceful. Can he eye the parts of Mexico that are riddled with violent cartels? Here is how I view it: Everyone wants their own a private toll road in the middle of a scenic tourist destination, no one wants to adopt a busy, littered, highway in the middle of Los Angeles. Let’s see “mother Russia” try to “mother” that fiasco.