NATO to fast-track membership for Finland and Sweden

Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary general, announced yesterday that the security bloc would grant fast-track membership to Sweden and Finland. The move raises the pressure on Vladimir Putin, who justified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by what he cast as the need to keep the military alliance away from his country’s borders. Follow the latest updates.

Finland’s Parliament is expected to ratify a NATO application today, and Sweden’s governing Social Democratic Party said yesterday that it would vote in favor of joining. “President Putin wants Ukraine defeated, NATO down, North America and Europe divided,” Stoltenberg said. “But Ukraine stands, NATO is stronger than ever, Europe and North America are solidly united.”

The decision by Finland and Sweden to apply to join NATO raises the likelihood that the alliance’s troops will deploy along Russia’s 810-mile border with Finland.

Next steps: An application to join NATO must be unanimously approved by its 30 members. One of them, Turkey, has raised issues over the pending applications, though it has suggested it will not oppose admission if its own security concerns are addressed.

On the ground: Ukrainian forces have advanced to near the Russian border in recent days after pushing Russian troops from the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Evidence is growing that Russia’s offensive in the Donbas region farther east is faltering after initial modest gains.

In other news from the war:

• Well over 400 Russian soldiers appear to have been killed or wounded as they tried to cross the Donets River in the eastern Luhansk region. The disaster appears to be breaking through the Kremlin’s tightly controlled information bubble.
• Russia has lost a third of the ground forces it committed to the offensive in Ukraine, according to British intelligence officials.

16-V-22, nytimes

“Suècia s’ha vist arrossegada per Finlàndia cap a l’OTAN; no ha tingut alternativa”

Als carrers d’Estocolm es percep més oposició a unir-se a l'Aliança que als de Hèlsinki

Soldats suecs desplegats a l'illa de Goltland, el punt més vulnerable del país a un possible atac rus. SERGEY PONOMAREV / Contactophoto

Enviada especial a Estocolm"Mentre sigui ministre de Defensa, mai participaré en un procés com aquest. Això us ho puc garantir". Amb aquesta contundència es va manifestar Peter Hultqvist, el ministre de Defensa de Suècia, fa tot just mig any, en l'últim congrés del Partit Socialdemòcrata, en què la formació va ratificar la seva postura en contra que Suècia s'unís a l'Aliança Atlàntica. Fa una setmana, el partit canviava radicalment d'opinió i donava llum verda a l'entrada del país escandinau a l'OTAN. I ara la sol·licitud formal ja està entregada .