Finland, Sweden Close To Dropping Neutrality, And Join NATO – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was ostensibly to de-nazify the country and stop the eastward expansion of NATO. Now, instead of fracturing the alliance, as Russian President Vladimir Putin expected, NATO may be expanding.
Finland and Sweden, who have proclaimed neutrality for decades, are looking at the Russian aggression in Ukraine and are justifiably concerned for their own countries. And both are close to making a decision on joining NATO.
This will have significant ramifications in the Baltic region as well, which will be detailed below.
This would be a severe blow to Russian prestige and an unexpected reaction to the ongoing bloody fight in Ukraine. On Thursday, Finland’s president and the prime minister said that their country must apply to join the NATO military alliance as soon as possible.
In a joint statement, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that Finland joining NATO is an option for the country after a report on national security was submitted to parliament.
“NATO membership would strengthen Finland’s security. As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defense alliance. Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay. We hope that the national steps still needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly within the next few days.”
Russia Calls This “ A Threat” And Vows “To Respond”
After the joint announcement by the Finnish president and prime minister, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Finland’s decision would not lead to more security and is another threat to Russia.
“As we have said many times before, NATO expansion does not make the world more stable and secure,” Peskov said to the news media in a statement.
As to Russia’s reaction to this latest development, which was not unexpected, Peskov added, “It will depend on what this expansion process will entail, how far and how close to our borders the military infrastructure will move.”
However, Finish President Niinisto pushed back with the reply, “You caused this. Look at the mirror,” he said, referring to Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine. And his statement mirrors that of the vast majority of Finns.
Prior to the February 24 invasion, only about 30 percent of the Finnish people were in favor of joining NATO. Since then, that number has skyrocketed to 80 percent in one poll. In another, the approval percentage was at 76 percent, with only 12 percent against, showing that the Finnish people believe that Russian intentions go beyond Ukraine.
How Does the Dynamic Change Between Russia and NATO?
The answer to that question is: It will change vastly. Finland shares an 800-mile border with Russia, and it would more than double Russia’s borders with NATO countries. After World War II, Finland, which fought against the Soviet Union, lost 10 percent of its territory.
This is the nightmare scenario that Putin has said he wants to avoid by invading Ukraine. Now it has had the opposite effect, and he only has his own decision to blame for this latest expansion of NATO, the ninth since 1949.
The Finnish military has 280,000 active-duty troops and 800,000 reservists and, despite not being a member of the alliance, has kept a close relationship with the West for decades. Sweden doesn’t have a border with Russia, but its air force is one of the strongest in Europe and would bolster the strategically important Baltic defenses.
If both decide to join NATO, which is expected to happen by Sunday, then their applications for membership are expected to be approved quickly. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that the application by Finland would be “warmly welcomed.”
“This is a sovereign decision by Finland, which NATO fully respects. Should Finland decide to apply, they would be warmly welcomed into NATO, and the accession process would be smooth and swift. Finland is one of NATO’s closest partners, a mature democracy, a member of the European Union, and an important contributor to Euro-Atlantic security,” he said.
Both Finland and Sweden have asked for security assurances from NATO and have received them from the United States and the UK that would protect them during the “gray zone” time between application and membership. During that time, the two countries would not yet be covered under Article 5 of the alliance, which states, “an attack on one member is an attack on all.”
Steve Balestrieri is a 1945 National Security Columnist. He has served as a US Army Special Forces NCO, and Warrant Officer before injuries forced his early separation. In addition to writing for 19fortyfive.com and for another military news organization, he has covered the NFL for PatsFans.com for more than 10 years. His work was regularly featured in the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle and Grafton News newspapers in Massachusetts.
Alex
May 12, 2022 at 10:11 am
OK. In Ukraine, 10,000 Russian and 1,000 Russian tanks are destroyed every day. It’s not even funny to read, but it’s not interesting anymore. Let’s talk about the collapsed Russian economy:
The Russian ruble has become the best world currency in 2022. On Thursday, May 12, Bloomberg reported.
According to the latest data, the ruble has grown by 11 percent against the dollar since the beginning of 2022. Thus, it has become the leader among the 31 major currencies monitored by the agency’s experts.
The strengthening of the currency came after the measures taken by the Russian government against the backdrop of Western sanctions, writes Bloomberg. It is clarified that the authorities introduced capital controls, and also obliged exporters to sell foreign exchange earnings. In particular, in March, the President of Russia announced a new procedure for paying for gas by European consumers.
As similar examples, the authors of the article cite the Turkish lira and the Argentine peso, which failed to achieve maximum growth rates after the decisions of the governments of these countries. The Russian currency, on the contrary, responded well to the measures taken, Bloomberg experts conclude.
Only facts, not squeals and fantasies of Bandera Nazis and Slavophobes.
Illurion
May 12, 2022 at 10:32 am
Bandera NAZI Alex, as usual, is full of it.
Russia is losing the war, and will lose the war, and Putin will be executed.
The Russian economy is in the dumps.
The Russian currency called the Ruble, is so pitiful that it takes almost “SEVENTY” (70) Rubles to equal just “ONE” (1) United States Dollar, and Alex THINKS THAT IS GOOD…??????
The entire World Economy has BANISHED the Ruble from the world banking system.
And yet Bandera NAZI Alex thinks that Russia is doing “peachy keen.”
Alex is such a loser.
LOL
ps: hey alex… Sweden and Finland are submitting their application to join NATO later today….
pps: and alex… Once the Russians have lost, and Ukraine has won, and retaken the Crimea, PLUS Russia’s other southernmost areas, Ukraine will join NATO too…
Steven Bakondi
May 12, 2022 at 11:25 am
Welcome to NATO, dear allies and friends, Sweden and Finland.
Pay no attention to Vlad Putaine’s saber rattling. He’ll get over it soon, hopefully, when his bloated head is paraded around Red Square on a pike before being tossed into a mass grave along with thousands of his fallen cannon fodder comrades.
And if he survives longer than I hope he will, it’ll only be a matter of time until he experiences what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a B-21s payload on short notice.
Have a nice day, Vlad Putaine, you demented genocidal mass murderer.
Hugs n kisses from your friends in the USA.
Alex
May 12, 2022 at 11:48 am
Russia’s oil revenues have grown by 50% since the beginning of the year, despite trade restrictions imposed after the start of a special operation in Ukraine, writes Bloomberg citing a report by the International Energy Agency.
“Russia has earned approximately $20 billion monthly since the beginning of 2022 from cumulative sales of oil and petroleum products at an export level of 8 million barrels per day,” the document says. As the IEA noted, supplies from Russia continue to flow despite the fact that the EU is currently discussing a ban on energy imports, and major international oil companies Shell and Total Energy promise to stop purchases.
Russian energy resources are in high demand in Asia, especially in India and China. Experts emphasize that the reduction in the supply of refined products from Russia, such as diesel fuel, fuel oil and naphtha, has exacerbated tensions on world markets. At the same time, stocks of so-called middle distillates (some types of petroleum products that are obtained as a result of the distillation of hydrocarbons, including heating and marine fuels) are at their lowest level since 2008.
Another collapse of the Russian economy. I am sure that in Russia they clap and thank you.
Illurion
May 12, 2022 at 4:14 pm
Dear Bandera NAZI Alex: (aka: the stupid one )
Just a little thought here in regards to you continually (over 25 times now) cutting and pasting the above words (word for word) about “RUSSIA’S OIL REVENUES.”
Alex: unlike most of what you write, which are lies, your “RUSSIA’S OIL REVENUES HAVE GROWN BY 50%” is actually TRUE….
However, you state it as if it is good news………
Unfortunately for YOU, and for RUSSIA, it is very BAD news.
The reason russian oil sales has increased by 50% IS BECAUSE ALL OF THAT OIL IS BEING BOUGHT BY CHINA and INDIA………….
Thats right.. CHINA and INDIA.
Other than a few european contracts that will expire in a few more weeks, and not be renewed, ALMOST NO COUNTRY IN THE WORLD IS BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA ANYMORE…
Things are SO BAD for the Russian Oil industry, THAT RUSSIA HAS HAD TO “DROP THE PRICE PER BARREL” OF THE OIL THEY SELL JUST IN ORDER TO SELL ANY AT ALL..
Consequently, SINCE NO ONE IS BUYING RUSSIAN OIL, RUSSIA IS “DESPERATE” TO SELL OIL TO “ANYONE”, AS OIL IS THE “NUMBER ONE MAJOR EXPORT PRODUCT” FOR ALL OF RUSSIA.
China, and India, ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS SITUATION, AND ARE BUYING AS MUCH OIL FROM RUSSIA AS THE CAN RIGHT NOW…
China and India ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF RUSSIA RIGHT NOW…
China and India ARE PAYING “PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR” FOR RUSSIAN OIL RIGHT NOW…..
China and India ARE BUYING “FAR MORE OIL FROM RUSSIA THAN THEY CAN POSSIBLY USE” RIGHT NOW, AND ARE “STORING IT” UNTIL THEY EVENTUALLY NEED IT…
China and India ARE “NOT” JUST DOING THIS TO SAVE MONEY………
THEY ARE DOING IT BECAUSE IT IS THE WORLD’S EXPECTATION THAT “RUSSIA WILL SOON CEASE EXPORTING OIL”…..
The REASON Russia will soon stop exporting oil is because after the SECOND NORMANDY takes place, the DEFEATED Russia will be in such bad shape that it will no longer have the infrastructure to pump oil, or export it…
China and India are buying immense amounts of oil from Russia now, because as the saying goes “THE BOTTOM IS ABOUT TO FALL OUT” of the Russian Oil Industry, so “YOU GET WHAT YOU CAN, WHEN YOU CAN,”
In conclusion Alex, you just keep on “cutting and pasting” your 50% OIL quotes, over and over, on every different article that you read.
That way we can all laugh at you on every article we read.
Alex
May 14, 2022 at 9:05 am
You need to understand the main thing: the United States is hysterical because the United States is losing the war in Ukraine. The only thing is to intervene directly in the conflict. And this will mean the end of the US country.
And here are the real numbers:
In total since the beginning of the special military operation, Russia has destroyed: 165 aircraft, 125 helicopters, 858 unmanned aerial vehicles, 304 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,051 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 372 multiple rocket launchers, 1,507 field artillery pieces and mortars, as well as 2898 units of special military vehicles.
Will the old American idiot decide on a nuclear war because of a slap in the impoverished Ukraine? We will see. But one thing is clear: the United States will cease to exist not as a country, but as a continent.
Illurion
May 14, 2022 at 2:25 pm
Dear Bandera NAZI Alex:
Let me get this straight.
Alex wrote above:
“the United States is hysterical because the United States is losing the war in Ukraine.”
(1) thank you nazi alex for finally admitting that the WAR in Ukraine is actually a “WAR”. and NOT a “special operation.”
(2) if the USA is “LOSING” the war in Ukraine, THEN WHY IS IT THAT RUSSIA HAS 27,000 DEAD SOLDIERS AND SAILORS IN UKRAINE, while the USA “HAS NOT HAD A SINGLE SOLDIER DIE THERE ?”
(3) as for the word “HYSTERICAL”….!!!…. IT IS “YOU”, BANDERA NAZI ALEX THAT IS “HYSTERICALLY” “CUT-AND-PASTING” THE SAME LYING POSTS OVER AND OVER MORE THAN 100 TIMES ON OVER 100 DIFFERENT ARTICLES ON THIS WEBSITE…
In conclusion, HYSTERICAL BANDERA NAZI ALEX KNOWS THAT RUSSIA IS LOSING THE WAR IN UKRAINE, AND EVERY DAY, HE COMES ONTO THIS WEBSITE AND LIES ABOUT IT, OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
Alex is the “LAUGHINGSTOCK” of this website.
Alex
May 15, 2022 at 11:30 am
A demobilized French soldier, author of the book “Get up and go thanks to science” Adrien Boke went to Ukraine on a humanitarian mission and spent three weeks there.
Upon his return, he decided to convey to the French information about the events he had witnessed in Ukraine.
“I take full responsibility for what I say. While in Ukraine, I witnessed war crimes. All of them were committed by the Ukrainian army. But in France we don’t talk about it!
When I returned to France from Ukraine, I was shocked: TV channels invite as experts people who have not been to Ukraine and do not know anything about what is happening there now. However, they dare to speculate about these events. Between what I hear from the TV screen and what I saw with my own eyes is an abyss.
Azov fighters are everywhere. With neo-Nazi stripes. It shocks me that Europe is supplying weapons to neo-Nazis. Not only do they not hide their views. They advertise them. I worked with these people and treated them.
Being there, there was nothing I could do. Just watch and make videos. I have this footage and will use it as evidence of Ukraine’s crimes.
I witnessed how the Ukrainian military shot through the knees of captured Russian soldiers and shot in the head higher-ranking officers.
I have personally seen American videographers making fake footage from the scene of the events staging.
All destroyed civilian buildings, given out by Ukraine for bombardment of civilians, are nothing more than the result of inaccurate shooting by Ukrainians at military facilities.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine hide ammunition in residential buildings at night, without even informing the residents. This is called using people as a shield, ”Boke quotes one of the French media.
The Washington Post recently drew attention to the fact that Ukrainian troops are placing military equipment in residential areas of cities in an attempt to counter the Russian Armed Forces, which threatens the lives of civilians.
Boke also spoke about the untruthfulness of Western media reports about the events in Bucha.
“Bucha is a staging. The bodies of the dead were moved from other places and deliberately placed in such a way as to produce shocking footage, ”the French author noted.
The documents confirming this were submitted to the Federal Security Service – how, who – there are relevant intercepts – on what transport he came to this settlement and created the conditions for organizing this provocation.
Soon all the collected evidence about the crimes of the Nazis in Ukraine will be seen by the whole world. And the most important thing is the help of Western countries to the Nazis of Ukraine and assistance in their crimes.