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fridiPutin may've miscalculated one more thing: he attacked Ukraine to prevent it from slipping away from Russia's grip and to prevent NATO from encroaching even closer to the Russian borders - but now two countries on the northern flank that used to be neutral are now considering joining NATO: Sweden and Finland.
Of course Russia's reaction was swift. They've warned Sweden and Finland through bilateral diplomatic channels about the consequences of joining NATO.
This was stated by the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova, who said "We have issued all our warnings, both publicly and through bilateral channels. They know about it, they have nothing to be surprised about, they are informed about everything that this will lead to."
Nevertheless, the Finnish parliament is about to open a debate on whether the country should apply for NATO membership after Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked growing political and public support for joining the military alliance.
Despite Russia's warning about deploying nuclear weapons in the Baltics if Finland and neighboring Sweden join NATO, the Finnish prime minister has said her country would now decide quickly whether to apply for membership. Sweden is also discussing whether to apply for membership and this should be decided soon, too.
This way Putin's gambit will backfire and NATO will complete its northern flank.
Of course Russia's reaction was swift. They've warned Sweden and Finland through bilateral diplomatic channels about the consequences of joining NATO.
This was stated by the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova, who said "We have issued all our warnings, both publicly and through bilateral channels. They know about it, they have nothing to be surprised about, they are informed about everything that this will lead to."
Nevertheless, the Finnish parliament is about to open a debate on whether the country should apply for NATO membership after Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked growing political and public support for joining the military alliance.
Despite Russia's warning about deploying nuclear weapons in the Baltics if Finland and neighboring Sweden join NATO, the Finnish prime minister has said her country would now decide quickly whether to apply for membership. Sweden is also discussing whether to apply for membership and this should be decided soon, too.
This way Putin's gambit will backfire and NATO will complete its northern flank.
