Ukraine invasion triggers NATO expansion as Finland, Sweden seek membership

Signalling the growing resolve across Europe to deal firmly with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, two major Scandinavian countries, Finland and Sweden, approached the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on Wednesday with formal requests to join the 30-member alliance.

If, as seems likely, NATO accepts their request, this will be the Atlantic Alliance’s biggest and most far-reaching expansion in two decades, adding over 800 miles to Russia’s northern border and greatly complicating its security calculus.

This is also an indicator of how much opinion in Europe has shifted against Russia since it invaded Ukraine. Finland’s parliament endorsed the proposal to join NATO by