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Swedish soldiers patrol the port of Visby on the Baltic Sea island of Gotland
Photo: KARL MELANDER / AFP
Putin's war of aggression in Ukraine is currently leading to an historic shift in opinion in Scandinavia.
According to a poll by the Aftonbladet tabloid, for the first time in Sweden's history, a majority of people in the Scandinavian country are in favor of joining NATO.
Support for accession rose nine points in a month to an all-time high of 51 percent, the poll released on Friday showed.
The number of those who oppose joining the military alliance fell by 10 points to 27 percent, while the number of undecided remained almost unchanged at 22 percent.
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A survey by the public broadcaster SVT also confirms the trend.
Accordingly, 49 percent of the people in Sweden support joining the western military alliance.
27 percent reject this, 24 percent are undecided.
In previous surveys, the proportion of supporters was 35 percent, according to SVT.
The Russian war in Ukraine has already changed opinion in Finland this week.
There, too, the majority of the population is in favor of joining NATO for the first time.
Sweden and Finland have always seen themselves as neutral states in the structure between the West and Russia.
However, the attack on Ukraine has completely rekindled the debate about NATO membership.
Stoltenberg: Sweden and Finland involved in NATO talks
In view of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the military alliance is now strengthening its cooperation with the two Scandinavian countries.
Norwegian NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Friday that Sweden and Finland will now take part in all the alliance's deliberations on the war in Ukraine.
col/AFP
