Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stern warning and vowed to deploy troops and strike systems near the Finnish border following Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO last April, which he referred to as a meaningless step.
“This is an absolutely meaningless step [for Finland and Sweden] from the point of view of ensuring their own national interests,” Putin said in an interview.
“We didn’t have troops there [at the Finland border], now they will be there. There were no systems of destruction there, now they will appear,” he added.
Following the launch of Russia’s assault in Ukraine more than two years ago, Sweden has ignored its long-standing neutrality, and became a member of NATO, making her the organisation’s newest member.
Finland became a member of the alliance on April 4 2023, and Sweden’s membership became official after Hungary, the last of the 31 alliance countries membership submitted its ratification document. Thus, Sweden is now fully covered by Article 5 of the alliance, which requires all other members to defend one another in the cause of an attack.
Anti-Putin insurgents supporting Ukraine told Russians to flee Belgorod and Kursk; threatening large volume of attacks on military targets on the border cities. A senior Czech official affirmed that the first set of deliveries of artillery ammunition under a Czech-led plan will reach Ukraine latest by June.
With the two newest Nordic countries in the alliance, the already existing members, the assertion that NATO controls almost all of the Baltic Sea is not far fetched. Will Russia be a match for NATO? Or will it give in as NATO members join forces against it in support of Ukraine?
