Putin Unwillingly Harms Russia, Pushing NATO to Bolster Its Northern Flank

09.05.2022, 10:27 eurointegration.com.ua

By re-invading Ukraine, Russia aimed – among other things – to stop NATO from expanding. However, it seems like Moscow has achieved just the opposite. NATO’s expansion will change the balance in Northern Europe, depriving Russia of some of its traditional leverage in the region, says Alina Grytsenko, a senior consultant at the National Institute for Strategic Research. Read the full article in Ukrainian Russia is Losing the Baltics: What Will Finland and Sweden’s NATO Membership Change? Finland is looking to file its NATO membership bid by the end of May. Sweden is not willing to lag behind. It is important for the two countries to synchronize their applications as Stockholm and Helsinki have traditionally aligned their approach to foreign affairs and defense. The membership bids will likely be reviewed at the upcoming NATO summit in Madrid in June, with the Alliance slated to give the green light to both. In the meantime, Sweden and Finland are busy negotiating the security guarantees from NATO while their applications are being reviewed. After all, Russia has threatened the two countries too.