At the parliament held in Helsinki, Finland on the 12th, Finland is discussing whether to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Helsinki = EPA
Finland, which shares a border with Russia, formally joins NATO, and Sweden’s accession is on the countdown, raising concerns that the West and Russia might directly clash. Russia is raising the threat level by deploying nuclear weapons in the Baltic Sea. The possibility that the Ukrainian front will spread to Northern Europe is increasing.
Finland’s President Sauli Ninistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin issued a joint statement on the 12th (local time) saying they would apply for Finland’s membership in NATO without delay. This is the first time Finland has officially joined NATO. Finland plans to submit an application for NATO membership following a parliamentary vote on the 16th. Sweden also makes a final decision on whether to join NATO on the same day.
Russia reacted immediately. Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement on the same day that “Finland’s accession to NATO would seriously damage the stability and security of the Nordic countries as well as relations between the two countries.” Kremlin spokeswoman Dmitry Peskov also threatened that “Russia’s response will depend on what the expansion entails and how far or near the borders will move military infrastructure.” If Finland joins NATO, the border between Russia and NATO will increase by regarding 1,304 km, almost doubling the current level. CNN reported that “Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine to prevent NATO’s advance, but it has resulted in a paradoxical result of Finland joining NATO.”
Finland, a neutral country, raised discussions regarding joining NATO, starting with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. Finland lost 10% of its territory during the ‘Winter War’, invaded by the Soviet Union in 1939, and suffered a painful loss of 70,000 casualties. Since then, it has been steadily increasing its military power by watching Russia’s forced annexation of Crimea in 2014. It recently purchased 64 F-35A, the latest stealth fighter, from the United States. After confirming Russia’s aggressiveness in the invasion of Ukraine, it was decided to strengthen national security by eventually joining NATO.
The West welcomed Finland and Sweden’s simultaneous accession to NATO. White House press secretary Jen Saki said at a briefing on the same day that “we support Finland and Sweden’s applications to join NATO.” French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also expressed their support. The New York Times predicted that “unlike Ukraine, which is already at war, Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO, which has maintained strong cooperative ties with the West for decades, will lead to unanimous approval of member states.”
An aerial photograph of a broken bridge over the Sibersky Donets River in Luhansk Province, eastern Ukraine, adjacent to Belgorod in southern Russia was taken on the 12th. Archyde.com Yonhap News
Aerial footage of a Russian tank attempting to cross the Sibersky Donets River in southeastern Ukraine destroyed by Ukrainian forces was captured on the 12th. Archyde.com Yonhap News
Military tensions between the West and Russia are on the rise. Russia immediately began reviewing a plan to cut off gas supplies to Finland. It is highly likely that Russia will pose a military threat while the accession process is in progress. Russia has previously warned that if the two countries join NATO, they will deploy nuclear weapons in the Baltic Sea. Britain has signed a mutual defense treaty with the two countries and announced that they will provide military support.
Russian forces are also on the defensive in Ukraine. According to a report by the British Defense Ministry, Russian forces are relocating troops to the southeast following failing to capture northeast Kharkiv. The Russian army was severely damaged by heavy Ukrainian artillery fire while crossing the Sibersky Donets River in the southeast, losing 73 tanks and armored vehicles and 1,500 men. The Russian army was also humiliated by the destruction of another Russian ship in a Ukrainian attack on Snake Island in the southern Black Sea that day.
Jiwon Kang reporter stylo@hankookilbo.com