SITREP – Finland Joins NATO
April 4, 2023

What has Happened: Earlier today, Finland joined NATO as the alliance’s 31st member (doubling the size of NATO’s border with Russia). This news comes as a setback for Putin, who cited NATO’s expansion as a major reason for his invasion of Ukraine last year. As expected, the Russian Foreign Ministry threatened “military, technical, and other retaliatory measures.” Previously, both Finland and Sweden had a stated policy of non-alignment, but changed course after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland has a long-standing relationship with NATO and its troops regularly conduct exercises with NATO forces. Finland already operates many of the same ... SITREP – Finland Joins NATO