AS the situation in Ukraine is “very severe’ Two more countries are considering joining NATO. This would be a strong response to Putin’s aggression.

One senior US source stated that membership for Sweden and Finland has been a “topic of conversation and multiple sessions,” adding, “How can this be anything but a massive strategic blunder for Putin?”

Sanna Marin, Finland’s prime minister, said over the weekend that it was past time for the country to reassess its stance on the military alliance, citing the “very severe” situation in Ukraine.

Magdalena Andersson, her Swedish counterpart, stated that she does not “exclude NATO membership in any way.”

“Russia is not the neighbour we thought it was,” said the Finnish prime minister over the weekend, urging the decision to be taken “thoroughly but quickly”.

She added: “I think we will have very careful discussions, but we are also not taking any more time than we have to in this process, because the situation is, of course, very severe.”

Officials stress that the countries are cooperating to develop domestic consensus, but that the final choice will be made independently. Both countries are separated by the Baltic Sea, and Finland and Russia have an 830-mile land border.

Finland is anticipated to submit its application in June, followed by Sweden.

Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, warned that if Finland and Sweden joined NATO, Russia would have to take “additional measures.”

Image Credit: Getty

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