Sweden's government said Thursday it plans to double the budget for civil defence over the next three years to prepare for times of war.

Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said the government was adding another two billion kronor ($192 million) to this year's civil defence budget which it hopes will grow to 15 billion kronor by 2028.

"The security situation remains serious and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future," Bohlin told reporters.

The added funds are aimed at strengthening healthcare and rescue services, food and drinking water supplies, transport and energy infrastructure.

"Lessons from Ukraine show the importance of securing key societal functions," the government said in a statement.

"Russia has actively sought to disrupt Ukraine's energy infrastructure, causing massive damage to transport infrastructure, among other things, which has affected many parts of Ukrainian society." 

Already in April, Sweden upped its 2024 civil defence budget by 385 million kronor.

However, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency said last year that it believed an annual budget of 20 billion kronor was needed.

Bohlin made waves in January when he told a defence conference "there could be war in Sweden". 

Shortly after, the commander of Sweden's armed forces, Micael Byden, said Swedes needed to "mentally prepare for war".

Sweden ended two centuries of military non-alignment in March when it joined NATO after it applied to join the US-led military alliance in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Sweden drastically slashed its defence spending after the end of the Cold War but reversed course after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

In March 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, Stockholm announced it would increase spending again, aiming to dedicate two percent of GDP to defence "as soon as possible".

Late last year, the government said military spending would exceed the two-percent goal in 2024.