Surprise, Surprise! Russian Ambulance's Appearance Baffles Stockholm

A Russian ambulance that surprisingly turned up in central Stockholm has sent shockwaves among Swedes, mostly due to their preoccupation with the far-fetched idea of a "Russian invasion."

To the immense surprise of unsuspecting locals, a Russian ambulance popped up in the Södermalm district of Stockholm to help a sick man.

The case was first noticed by a passer-by named Måns Jonasson, who was on his way to dinner with his friends in the area. He saw a man lying on the ground, with several people gathered around him.

The ambulance van that arrived at the scene, however, had both Russian plates and inscriptions in Russian. Additionally, the doctors had uniforms with Russian letters and spoke Russian between themselves — which all fell into the fertile soil of Swedes' perennial fears of a "Russian threat."

Varför gör en rysk ambulans insats på Söder? pic.twitter.com/iwzll5178G

— Måns Jonasson (@mansj) December 5, 2017

​This rare appearance left Swedish netizens puzzled. While some suggested a film was being shot, most users agreed, however, that a car with Russian plates must belong to the Russian embassy.

"All the G8 embassies have their own ambulances," user Damiano wrote.

"The Swedish ambulance turned out to be less operational," another user tweeted ironically.

User Mikael Skillt, a former Swedish sniper fighting with the Ukrainian nationalist Azov battalion, ventured that the ambulance could have picked up Russian security personnel.

According to the daily tabloid Aftonbladet, the Stockholm police showed a keen interest in the incident, but failed to uncover the secret behind the mysterious Russian ambulance.

"Nobody seems to know s*it, unfortunately," Victor Adolphson of the Södermalm police told Aftonbladet.

The situation was later clarified by Mikhail Dzalagonia, the head physician of St. Petersburg-based private first help service, to which the ambulance belonged. According to him, the car arrived in the Swedish capital to pick up home a Russian citizen who had sustained injuries during a business trip in Stockholm.

The crew happened to be flagged down by passers-by to tend to a person who'd fallen ill.

"Our doctors provided him first aid before the arrival of their Swedish colleagues," Dzalagonia explained to the Russian agency RIA Novosti.

Måns Jonasson, the man who unwittingly started the hullaballoo, later came up with a special tweet to all Russians, explaining that he didn't think there was anything nefarious about a Russian ambulance in Stockholm and was just curious, having never seen a foreign ambulance before. Jokingly, he also ensured that the Russians that he loved vodka and Alfred Schnittke's music, and that no Russophopbia was involved.

To all Russians: I didn't think there was anything nefarious about a Russian ambulance in Stockholm, I was just curious as I've never seen a foreign ambulance here.

This is not an example of Swedish Russophobia, at least not on my end.

I love vodka. And Alfred Schnittke. ♥️

— Måns Jonasson (@mansj) December 7, 2017​