Both Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist (S) and Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson (S) have on several occasions previously been skeptical of the demands from the opposition to send defensive weapons to Ukraine.

Several countries have already supplied weapons, including the United Kingdom.

Others have decided to do so.

Sunday's message from Germany, for example, means a complete reversal.

The country has previously said no to sending German weapons to Ukraine, but has now changed.

When country after country, both within the EU and outside, has decided to send munitions to Ukraine, the pressure has increased on the Swedish government to act.

At the same time, the press has increased in domestic policy.

Several opposition parties have pushed the issue hard and demanded information from the government.

In the middle of last week, a change in the government's attitude could be seen.

Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson then announced that she had commissioned the Minister of Defense to take an inventory of the Armed Forces' stockpiles to see what Sweden could contribute.

Dramatic development

The dramatic development of events in Ukraine in recent days has also been a strong contributor to Sunday's announcement.

And it's a historic decision.

In fact, Sweden has not sent weapons directly to a war zone since the Finnish Winter War of 1939, when the Soviet Union attacked Finland.

However, these were significantly larger amounts of munitions.

Although Sweden has since exported weapons to warring countries, these have been deliveries in accordance with previous contracts.

This happened in 2003 when Swedish arms exports to the United States and Great Britain continued despite the war in Iraq.

Even though Swedish arms export legislation is very restrictive, there is a possibility of an exception if exports are considered to be of great importance for Sweden's foreign and security policy.

It is with this very reference that the government now wants to send defense equipment and weapons to Ukraine.

"Will vote for the proposal"

Sunday evening's announcement means that the Riksdag will already make a decision on Monday.

And it will be no problem for the government to get a majority in the Riksdag for its proposal.

The opposition will vote in favor of the proposal, but at the same time criticize the government's actions.

This includes the fact that several opposition parties believe that the government has acted too slowly and not at an earlier stage chosen to assist Ukraine with defense equipment.

It is also about the fact that the 5,000 armored shots that are included in the support are a relatively light weapon that can strike out combat vehicles but does not bite on modern tanks.

No matter what, the Riksdag will tomorrow approve the Government's proposal.

The plan is then to deliver protective equipment, supplies and armor shots to the Ukrainian military as soon as possible.