That will stop those Russians.
Posted on 04/04/2023 7:42:11 AM PDT by Twotone
BRUSSELS (AP) — The blue-and-white Finnish flag rises outside NATO headquarters Tuesday afternoon, making Finland a member and doubling Russia’s border with the world’s biggest security alliance.
The move is a strategic and political blow to President Vladimir Putin, who has long complained about NATO’s expansion toward Russia and partly used that as a justification for his country’s war with Ukraine.
“What we see is that President Putin went to war against Ukraine with a declared aim to get less NATO,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. “He’s getting the exact opposite.”
Like all NATO members, Finland will benefit from the collective security guarantee that an attack on one is considered an attack on all.
NATO has said that it has no immediate intention to step up its presence in Finland. Some members have deployed troops there for war games over the last year.
Russia immediately warned that it would bolster forces near Finland if NATO sends any additional troops or equipment to what will be its 31st member country
Finland has substantial, well-trained armed forces with elite troops capable of operating in the sub-zero temperatures of the high north. The Nordic country also has a large reserve army and is investing heavily in new equipment, including dozens of U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets.
The Finnish flag rising between the French and the Estonian in a ceremony scheduled for 1330 GMT will complete the fastest accession process in the organization’s recent history .
Alarmed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Finland applied to join NATO in May 2022. Neighboring Sweden also applied, but its accession process will take longer.
The ceremony falls on NATO’s very own birthday, the 74th anniversary of the signing of its founding Washington Treaty on April 4, 1949.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
The good news is that most of the border is frontier.
It happened because of Putin
the whole NATO thing was just a piss poor excuse by Putin to attempt to reassemble the old soviet union.
I don’t think the Russians are afraid of Finland.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Vt3CxtQsuQ
Sweden should be following very soon. Turkey is the obstacle for NATO approval. Seems that Sweden has some Kurds living there, that the Turks object to. Or want to be paid off in cash for dropping their supposed objections.
To get into NATO, all current members must say yes.
Oh, that's a relief!
I had been thinking that most of the border might be, yuh know, not frontier.
Regards,
If Putin thought the west was encroaching in Ukraine…he ain’t gonna like this.
I guess all the vets of the winter war are probably dead.
As I recollect, lakes provide a good defense for both Finland and Russia.
Russia will do what it feels it needs to do.
I don’t think Russia fears Finland, but it knows it should respect Finland.
The Finns in 1940 had submachine guns and the Russians were not as well armed personally.
“I don’t think the Russians are afraid of Finland.”
They should be. The Finns handed them their asses during The Winter War.
L
The bad news is that we have added another country to defend up to and including nuclear war. The US provides the insurance policy and pays the premiums. Good deal for Finland.
What Putin and the residents of Moscow and Saint Petersburg don’t want is 25 million Russian refugees getting tossed out of the former republics of the CCCP that are not part of the Russian Federation.
The gloating of NATO fans exposes that screwing with and menacing Russia has always been their goal. A goal that does nothing for regular Americans enduring stolen elections, paying bills, taxes, and watching DC depredations on their children and turning on free speech, gun rights, property rights and personal freedom. But by all means, let’s screw with Russia up by the Arctic circle.
Congratulations neocons and globalists.
That will stop those Russians.
This map shows the significance of Finland joining NATO. The border between Finland and Karelia is mostly wilderness and complete wilderness in Murmansk Oblast. The one major road between St. Petersburg and Murmansk is the Achilles heal of Russia’s northern fleet. Finland’s military is one of Europe’s best. Russia ain’t happy today. They are cornered, which makes them dangerous.
Sorry about the map. There’s not much out there. Check Google maps for more detail.
“If Putin thought the west was encroaching in Ukraine…he ain’t gonna like this.”
The only reason anyone pays attention to this deranged punk Putin, is he has nukes and some missiles. In a straight ground war of Ukraine + NATO vs Russia. NATO+U would have rolled halfway to Moscow by now. But no point in invading Moscow.
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