What is Ukraine's strategy to deal with Russian attacks?
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(CNN) --
Almost two weeks after the first Russian tanks crossed the border, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has had a profound impact on Europe inside and outside of NATO, and especially in the case of Sweden and Finland. .
The EU applied, in coordination with the United States, a battery of sanctions against Russia, including its suspension of the SWIFT system, in an attempt to pressure Moscow to cease its military actions.
Ukraine calls Moscow's proposal to evacuate civilians to Russia and Belarus "immoral"
At the same time, Germany broke a historical tradition and announced arms shipments to Ukraine—something it refused to do during the pre-invasion escalation—and Poland is attempting to supply the Ukrainians with MiG-29 fighter jets.
Sweden and Finland, which belong to the EU but are not part of NATO, maintain close military cooperation with each other and with the Atlantic Alliance, and have now been targeted by Russia.
Helsinki and Stockholm before the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Saturday that "Russia's war against a sovereign European nation endangers the European security order."
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"In this changing security environment, Finland and Sweden will continue to strengthen their cooperation," he added during a press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, according to Reuters.
"The security situation has changed dramatically. I have met several times in the last week with the leaders of the other Swedish parties and we are discussing a number of issues," Andersson said.
Both countries, and especially Finland, which shares a long 1,300-kilometre border with Russia, have maintained a historic balance between NATO and Moscow, but have now been open to discussing other options.
"Now we are having this debate in Finland," Marin said of joining NATO.
"We will have these discussions within parliament, with the president, within the government and between the parties."
In a poll commissioned in Finland by the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, and conducted at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February, 53% said they agreed with Finland joining NATO.
Two years ago, only 20% said so, Reuters reported.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg meets with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin on October 25, 2021. (Credit: JUSSI NUKARI/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images)
In Sweden a similar poll, conducted on Friday by Demoskop on behalf of the Aftonbladet newspaper, showed that 51% were in favor of joining NATO, a significant rise from the 42% who said they were in January, according to Reuters.
Russia's warning
"It is obvious that if Finland and Sweden enter NATO, which is primarily a military organization, this would have serious military and political consequences that would force the Russian Federation to take retaliatory measures," he said on February 25, a day after of the invasion, the spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova.
"We cannot help but note the persistent attempts by NATO and some member states of the alliance, especially the United States of America, to bring Finland, as well as Sweden, into the alliance," he added.
Last Wednesday four Russian Air Force fighter jets — two Sukhoi Su-27s and two Su-24s — violated Swedish airspace east of the island of Gotland, and were intercepted by Swedish Jas 39 Gripen fighters.
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"In the framework of the current situation, we take the incident very seriously. It is an unprofessional and irresponsible action on the part of Russia," Swedish Air Force chief Carl-Johan Edström said.
The entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO
Russia has based much of its argument to justify the invasion of Ukraine on its concerns about the possibility of this country joining NATO, the desire of part of the population and political sectors after independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Georgia, another former Soviet republic also seeking NATO membership, was invaded by Russia in 2008.
In contrast, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, three other former members of the USSR, have been part of NATO since 2004, and the Atlantic Alliance maintains multinational battalions deployed there—as well as in Poland.
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO's secretary general, told a news conference in January that the current closeness between Sweden and Finland and the organization was such that their entry would be "very quickly if they decide to do so."
"But at the end of the day, it will be a political decision."
And in another conference held on Friday, Stoltenberg said that "in response to Russia's aggression" they had decided to strengthen coordination and information exchange with Finland and Sweden.
"Both countries now participate in all NATO consultations on the crisis," he said.
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