'Historic week': Finland joins NATO, is 31st member of world military alliance. Ukraine live updates
USA TodayAPR 2023
Finland’s accession to NATO is a huge affront to Putin as Moscow’s geopolitical calculations worsen. The Atlantic Alliance has now doubled its border with Russia, despite the Kremlin's previous threats against Nordic countries for attempting to join NATO. Putin's war on Ukraine has brought the exact opposite of what he hoped for.
While Russia is certainly not thrilled about Finland joining NATO, the Kremlin is not overly concerned. Moscow will do what it must to reinforce its military capabilities on its western and northwestern borders, but Russia does not pose a threat to Finland or Sweden. This is more of a non-event than Western governments would like to convey.