Finland is a new member of NATO: what does its membership mean and what contribution does it make to the military alliance?

If Russian President Vladimir Putin saw a threat in the fact that his neighbor Ukraine (former Soviet republic) to join NATO; now have to deal with the recent accession of Finland to transatlantic alliance.

More than two weeks ago, exactly on April 4, the Scandinavian nation became its 31st member NATO, military alliance created as a counterweight Soviet Union and currently consists of such countries as the USA, Greece, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, France, Germany and others.

It was one of the processes accession the fastest in the organization’s history, albeit with slight delays due to position Turkish governmentwhich required Finland stop giving shelter groups it considers terrorists, such as Kurdish militias or the Gülen Islamist sect for blaming them for the failed 2016 coup.

Solution Finland stick to NATO this happened in May 2022, and this position violated more than eighty years of neutrality. Main reason? The Russian invasion of Ukraine took place on February 24, 2022, repeats RPP Noticias on internationalist Francesco Tucciuniversity professor and specialist in geopolitical analysis.

“The idea was to remain a state not involved in the Western bloc’s rivalry with the Soviet bloc. […]. It is clear that the main reason was the invasion of Ukraine. Finland did not even think about joining NATO during the Cold War, which is curious,” he comments.

“The presence of a hostile Russian will towards neighboring Ukraine, which historically was considered part of the zone of influence, determined this decision by Finland, which is going to become a NATO country with the largest border with the Russian Federation.” , he adds.

integration Scandinavian country means that the mode Vladimir Putin think twice before threatening the integrity of this nation, because, explains TucciArticle 5 of NATO may apply, which establishes that an attack on an alliance member country implies aggression against all members of the organization.

“Finland is no longer within the reach of a military attack, in what sense? If the Russian government wants to attack Finlandthere is an automatic response from other NATO countries,” he clarifies.

For Francesco Tucci, This scenario only exacerbates geopolitical tensions in Europe, as he estimates Putin’s forces will double down on military exercises in border areas with allied military alliances.

“The politics will no doubt be more hostile and we will have an increase in military exercises or the presence of Russian combat aircraft near the airspace of NATO countries, which has been happening for five to six years. Therefore, we will have increased provocations,” he notes.

Bye Juan Carlos Ladineza specialist in international relations, elaborates that it would be “crazy” for the Russian leader to even think about invading a neighboring country, since, he stresses, there would be a joint reaction from NATO.

“I share some of the vision of the Scandinavian analysts who say that it would be crazy if Putin launched an invasion of Finland, because he knows that the group will get a response, and the response will be exemplary,” he says.

Accession of Finland: a new setback for Putin?

is about to be fulfilled fourteen months from the very beginning Ukrainian war. It was supposed to be a “lightning conquest”, but Russian troops They still have not managed to break the Ukrainian resistance, supported to a large extent by the bloc NATO.

For a group of specialists consulted RPP news by the end of 2022 Ukrainian invasion It was a miscalculation on the part Putin regime. Added to this is a “new failure” for Russian leader: Finland’s recent accession to transatlantic alliance.

And it is precisely the “coup” – as the internationalists say Paul Saavedra And Francesco Tucci – because both countries have a common border 1340 kilometers and if you take into account that one of the factors that caused war in Ukraine The government of Volodymyr Zelensky intended to join military alliance.

“The paradox is this: “If Putin wanted to first prevent Ukraine from joining the European Union, and then NATO; look what happened with his aggressive policy towards the neighboring country, it practically drove Finland enter NATO’. This is a lousy result, because NATO troops will be located on a huge border, ”comes from this premise. Tucci chart the situation leader of Russia.

for him too University teacherthere was an effect “reverse fire” on the European continent; that is, Putin wanted to prevent expansion NATO in the zone of his influence, but in the end advocated the entry a country with which it has a broad border.

“This is a failure, I think it is a failure, despite the fact that the Russian government is not going to admit it. It’s bad luck, because if I don’t want my neighbor to come in [Ucrania]another neighbor who has a huge border is about to come in, it’s bad luck!” he repeats.

In an interview with RPP newsGraduate of the Faculty of International Relations, Paul Saavedranotes that Putin failed in his attempt to prevent renewal military alliance who presides over the United States.

“The results of the invasion of Ukraine were the exact opposite of those that Putin had, because he hoped that NATO would not continue to replenish its ranks, and the fear of an invasion caused the opposite,” he said.

“In a few simple words, this backfired on Putin,” he adds.

Finland’s main contribution to NATO

One of the main advantages that Finland could contribute NATO this is their experience in fighting cybercrime. The Nordic country is at the forefront of cybersecurity, according to Cyber ​​Security Exposure Index (CEI) 2020.

In addition, it is a benchmark in the early detection of cyber threats and in the training of experts in Information Security.

Another contribution that Finland offers NATO it is his highly trained military force. Although he has a relatively small army, he has strong training and experience in defending his space, which would be useful for alliance led by the United States in the face of a possible confrontation in old continent.

In a country close to 5.5 million inhabitants, most of the men are in the military. In accordance with international mediaHow World Spain, the army of the Scandinavian nation has 13,000 active soldiershave at least 900,000 reservists and may have 280,000 soldiers.

He specialist Francesco Tucci indicates that decades before joining NATOThere has been constant collaboration between Finnish forces and the army of military alliance; so joint work and military tests will not complicate.

“Finland has a good military, well trained and technologically advanced. These are armed forces that have been cooperating with NATO for decades. The main contribution is the border [con Rusia]if we consider what irritates the Russian government the most: the border, a serious mistake by Putin,” Tucci comments.

Meanwhile he internationalist Paul Saavedra coincides with Francesco Tucci and points out that Finland’s main contribution lies in its “well trained and equipped” soldiers, in addition to being a tactical space for NATO due to more than 1,300 kilometers of common border with Russia.

“Finland has one of the largest artillery arsenals in all of Western Europe and a significant number of reservists. In addition, it expands the NATO border by more than 1,300 kilometers separating the Scandinavian country from Russia. That is, it gives them a geopolitical, logistical and tactical advantage,” he says. Saavedra to RPP News.

Finland begins construction of a fence on the border with Russia

A few days after joining NATO Finland construction of a barbed wire fence, located on the border with Russianear the city of Imatra, in the southeast of the country.

Finnish Border Guard He showed the construction of an initial three-kilometre section of the fence to be erected at Pelkol, close to the border crossing next to Imatra.

The main purpose of the three-meter steel fence with barbed wire on top is to prevent illegal immigration from Russia and give local authorities time to respond.

While Finland strengthens protection measures, Sweden prepares to become the 32nd member of NATO. The demands of the Turkish regime, which asks the Swedish government not to extradite people it considers linked to terrorist organizations, have not yet been met.