Major General Laura Swaan Wrede has been appointed Deputy Commander of the European Union Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM), the EU's military training mission for Ukraine. She thereby becomes the second-highest commander within the mission and will operate at the military-strategic level within the EU's command structure.
According to the Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten), EUMAM encompasses training of Ukrainian military personnel at both basic and advanced levels. The activities are conducted at multiple locations within the EU, primarily in Germany and Poland, and include unit training and specialist competencies.
– Europe's support for Ukraine must be long-term, sustained, and robust. The military training mission is a decisive element in strengthening Ukraine's defence capability, here and now, but also in the longer term, says Supreme Commander Michael Claesson in a press release from the Swedish Armed Forces.
Sweden has participated in EUMAM since spring 2023 and contributes, among other things, instructors in medical services and unit training. According to the Swedish Armed Forces, the mission has so far trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian military personnel.
– This is a strategically important mission where training is crucial to Ukraine's long-term defence capability. Sweden's contribution and commitment makes a concrete difference, and I look forward to taking on the assignment with full force, says Laura Swaan Wrede in the press release.
Swaan Wrede stepped down as Chief of the Swedish Home Guard (Hemvärnet) at the turn of the year. She had led the Home Guard since 2022 and was succeeded by Major General Mattias Ardin. Prior to that, she served as Deputy Chief of the Army, Commander of the Life Guards (Livgardet), and Army Chief of Operations. She has also participated in international missions in the Middle East and the Balkans, among other theatres.
In a year-in-review article published on NDS in December 2025, Swaan Wrede described the Home Guard's international cooperation and Sweden's contribution to the British-led training operation Interflex for Ukrainian soldiers. She wrote that the Home Guard, together with the Army, had contributed to training more than 56,000 Ukrainians since 2022.