Are other countries telling people more? What Sweden, Finland and Ukraine tell citizens (and the UK doesn't)

The short answer

Yes, on war they say more. The UK's Be Ready campaign asks households to manage at home for 3 days and covers storms, floods, power cuts, cyber, radiation and terrorism, but has no page on armed conflict. Sweden asks for at least a week and its brochure covers air raids, sirens, public shelters, nuclear weapons, evacuation and fake news. Finland asks for at least 72 hours and has official pages on military conflict and civil defence shelters. Ukraine's emergency service tells people to find their nearest shelter and not to rely on the 'two walls' rule. The EU has set a 72-hour target for its members. The basics overlap: water, food, medicines, a radio, cash and a plan.

Why people ask

On Mumsnet's "prepping for war" thread, one question keeps coming up: why do Sweden and Finland send their citizens detailed war advice when the UK doesn't? It's a fair question. We read the official guidance from each country (or, for Ukraine, a report of it) and compared it point by point.

A note on sources: we read Sweden's brochure In case of crisis or war (English PDF), Finland's official Suomi.fi preparedness guide and the 72 tuntia ("72 hours") site, and the EU's strategy page. Ukraine's State Emergency Service (DSNS, also written SESU) website didn't load from the UK when we tried it, so we cite a published report of its advice and say so.

Side by side

	UK (Be Ready)	Sweden (MCF)	Finland (Suomi.fi, 72 tuntia)	Ukraine (DSNS, via report)
Supplies at home	3 days	At least a week	At least 72 hours; longer is a good idea	Not covered in the report we read
War covered?	No conflict page; general advice plus radiation and terrorism	Yes: air raids, nuclear weapons, total defence	Yes: military conflicts and civil defence	Yes: shelters during attacks
Warnings	Emergency Alerts on 4G/5G phones	Outdoor sirens, radio P4, phone alerts	Rising and falling 1-minute siren, radio, 112 Suomi app	Not covered in the report
Shelters	No public shelter network described	Public civil defence shelters, nearest one, map online	Civil defence shelters, or the strongest central indoor space	Find your nearest shelter (Diia app)
Evacuation	Follow emergency services' advice	Instructions by radio and alerts; help if you can't leave alone	Most arrange own transport and stay; authorities help others	Rehearse your own evacuation steps
Duty to help	No duty; Be Ready asks people to answer calls for volunteers	Total defence duty, age 16 to 70	Civil defence duty for adults 18 to under 68	Not covered
Fake news	Not covered on Be Ready	A page on "psychological defence"	Mentions hostile information influence	Not covered
Worry	Not covered on Be Ready	A page: "If you are worried"	72 tuntia has a psychological resilience section	Not covered

What the UK says

GOV.UK's Be Ready campaign asks every household to be ready to manage at home for 3 days, with water, food, a torch, a radio, medicines and a plan. It has 18 hazard pages, from storms to cyber, radiation and terrorism. We found no page on armed conflict or air raids.

The UK's National Risk Register 2025 notes that a scenario involving a nuclear attack on the UK exists but is held at a higher classification. UKHSA's go in, stay in, tune in advice is written for radiation accidents. So the honest summary is that the UK publishes general preparedness advice, not war advice.

What Sweden says

Sweden's brochure opens by saying that if Sweden is attacked, it will never surrender, and that any suggestion otherwise is false. Its practical advice:

Manage on your own for at least a week, so help can go to those who need it most. Share with neighbours.
Learn the sirens. A warning siren (7 seconds on, 14 off) means go indoors, close windows and doors, switch off ventilation and listen to Sveriges Radio P4. Short bursts mean an air raid: take cover at once.
Shelters. Go to the nearest civil defence shelter, cellar, garage or underground station. A room without windows is better than being outside. If caught outside, lie down, ideally in a ditch.
Nuclear weapons. Take cover as for an air raid. Radiation levels fall sharply after a couple of days.
Evacuation. A list of what to take: food and water for a few days, ID, a bank card and cash, medicines and aids, a battery or wind-up radio, warm clothes, a phone and charger, and numbers on paper.
Fake news. Be wary of content that provokes strong emotions, share only what comes from reliable sources, and check with official sources.
Worry. Talk to people, help others prepare, look after sleep and food, and restrict your news intake.

What Finland says

Finland's official guide asks households to cope on their own for at least 72 hours, so the authorities can get the situation under control and help the most vulnerable. Its home list overlaps with the UK's: water and lidded containers, food you already eat, a battery radio, a torch, a charged back-up power source, medicines, hygiene items that work without running water, a small amount of cash, and pet food.

Things the UK list doesn't include:

Duct tape for sealing windows and vents when sheltering indoors.
Iodine tablets, for household members in the recommended groups (Finland names people under 40 and people who are pregnant or breastfeeding). The UK's advice is different: UKHSA says to take only tablets provided for the purpose, and only when officials tell you. See our iodine tablets post.
Two bank accounts with a card for each, enough cash for a few days, and a mobile payment app, in case payment systems fail.
A warning against hoarding, which disrupts shops and supply chains.

On military conflict, Finland's guide says to go to the nearest civil defence shelter or the strongest central part of a building, that alarms can give very little warning, and not to touch suspicious objects such as unexploded ammunition. Where there's no fighting, it asks people to live as normally as possible.

What Ukraine says (via a report)

Ukraine's emergency service is the one with daily experience of attacks. In a May 2025 briefing reported by Media Center Ukraine, the service's spokesperson, Oleksandr Khorunzhyi:

told people to find their nearest shelter (the Diia app shows them), tell their family where it is, explain the plan to children and rehearse their own evacuation steps
called the "two walls" rule (sheltering behind two walls, away from windows) "more of a psychological concept" that can't be relied on against direct hits, and advised strongly against relying on it

Limits: this is one press report, not the service's own guidance, which we couldn't open from the UK. Advice for Ukraine assumes frequent air-raid alerts and public shelters, which the UK doesn't have. Our post on what to do after a missile or drone strike nearby covers what UK homes can use.

What the EU says

The European Commission's Preparedness Union Strategy (March 2025) commits to guidelines to help people reach self-sufficiency of at least 72 hours, along with better early warning, public awareness campaigns and preparedness in school curricula. The UK isn't in the EU, but its 3-day advice sits at the same level.

What this means for a UK household

Start with Be Ready's 3 days. It's the UK advice and it fits UK services.
Consider a week if you can. Sweden asks for at least a week. Build it slowly from food you already eat.
Borrow the good ideas the UK doesn't cover: a second way to pay, a written evacuation list, limiting your news, checking before you share.
Know your best room at home, work and school, since the UK has no public shelter network. See which room is safest in a UK house or flat.
Make sure your phone can get Emergency Alerts. GOV.UK says they work on 4G and 5G, need no sign-up, and won't reach phones that are off, 2G/3G-only or wifi-only.

Where official sourcing is weak

Ukraine: one news report of a briefing, not the official guidance itself.
UK and war: the UK doesn't publish household advice for armed conflict, and its nuclear attack scenario is classified. We can compare only what's public.
Sweden's and Finland's advice is written for their own warning systems, shelters and laws. Not all of it transfers to the UK.

Frequently asked questions

Are other countries (Finland, Sweden) telling people more than the UK is?

On war, yes. Sweden's brochure In case of crisis or war covers air raids, sirens, shelters, nuclear weapons and evacuation. Finland's official guide has a page on military conflicts and civil defence. The UK's Be Ready site has no page on armed conflict; its advice is for emergencies in general, plus specific hazards such as radiation and terrorism.

How many days of supplies do other countries ask for?

The UK asks for 3 days (Be Ready). Finland asks for at least 72 hours. Sweden asks households to manage on their own for at least a week. The EU's Preparedness Union Strategy aims for people to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours.

Does the UK have air-raid sirens or public shelters like Sweden and Finland?

Sweden and Finland both describe outdoor warning sirens and civil defence shelters. The UK sends Emergency Alerts to phones in an area at risk. Be Ready doesn't describe any public shelter network, and we found no UK official page that does.

What does Ukraine tell people about shelters?

According to a May 2025 briefing reported by Media Center Ukraine, the State Emergency Service's spokesperson told people to find their nearest shelter (using the Diia app), tell their family where it is and make a plan, and not to rely on the 'two walls' rule, which he said can't be relied on to protect you. We couldn't open the service's own website from the UK.

Should I follow Swedish or Finnish advice instead of UK advice?

Use UK advice first: it's written for UK homes, phone alerts and services. Other countries' guidance is useful for ideas the UK doesn't cover, such as keeping more than 3 days of supplies or limiting news. Where they conflict, such as iodine tablets, follow UKHSA.

Sources

We opened each page on the date shown. Official advice changes: if a source says something different now, follow the source.

GOV.UK Be Ready: home page (read 1 November 2026)
GOV.UK Be Ready: be informed about hazards (list of hazard pages) (read 1 November 2026)
GOV.UK Be Ready: be ready for emergencies (checklist) (read 1 November 2026)
GOV.UK Be Ready: play your part in your community (read 1 November 2026)
GOV.UK: How emergency alerts work (read 1 November 2026)
UKHSA (GOV.UK): What to do in a radiation emergency (updated 10 September 2024) (read 1 November 2026)
Cabinet Office: National Risk Register 2025 (PDF; nuclear attack scenario held at a higher classification) (read 1 November 2026)
Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency (MCF): In case of crisis or war, English edition (PDF) (read 1 November 2026)
Suomi.fi (Finland): General instructions on preparedness, home emergency supplies (read 1 November 2026)
Suomi.fi (Finland): Military conflicts and civil defence (read 1 November 2026)
Suomi.fi (Finland): Disruptions in payment systems (read 1 November 2026)
72 tuntia (SPEK, Finnish National Rescue Association): 72 hours home preparedness (read 1 November 2026)
Media Center Ukraine: 'Two walls' rule doesn't guarantee full protection, SESU urges public to use shelters (28 May 2025) (read 1 November 2026)
European Commission: EU preparedness union strategy (read 1 November 2026)

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What Sweden, Finland and Ukraine tell their citizens, compared with the UK