One of the unintended consequences of Russian thug and war criminal Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine was to drive NATO countries closer and more determined to oppose his notion of Russia redrawing the borders of Europe according to an imperial Russian fantasy. Another was to persuade nominally neutral countries like Sweden and Finland (which shares an 800 mile border with the expansionist Russia) to likely move toward NATO membership themselves. From CNN:
"NATO officials told CNN that discussions about Sweden and Finland joining the bloc have gotten extremely serious since Russia's invasion, and US senior State Department officials said the matter came up at this week's NATO foreign ministerial, which was attended by the foreign ministers from Stockholm and Helsinki.
Officials said the discussions underline the extent to which Vladimir Putin's invasion has only served to reinvigorate and unify the NATO alliance -- the exact opposite of Putin's stated goals before the war began. The Russian President had demanded that NATO cease expanding east and admitting new members, accusing the bloc of threatening Russian security. Instead, NATO has increased its support to Ukraine and is preparing to welcome new members." (our emphasis)
To say that Russia's war of aggression rattled its Scandinavian neighbors is an understatement: opinion polls show a significant shift in popular support in both nations for NATO membership from before Russia's invasion.
The complete integration of both nations into the NATO alliance could come in the next few months. One factor in their favor is that both countries have long been integrated militarily with NATO nations, while not being members. Aside from the military aspect of membership, Sweden's and Finland's intelligence capabilities would add substantially to those of the West. It's yet another example that, far from being a "genius," as the Malignant Loser dubbed him, Putin has severely blundered with his invasion, losing thousands of Russian soldiers, branding Russia as a war criminal state, damaging its economy, and convincing his neighbors of that Russia poses a danger to them.
