Worthy Christian News > World News > Sweden Joins NATO As 32nd State Amid Worries Of Broader War (Worthy News In-Depth)

Sweden Joins NATO As 32nd State Amid Worries Of Broader War (Worthy News In-Depth)

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

STOCKHOLM/WASHINGTON/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Sweden became the 32nd member of NATO on Thursday in a historic move that will see the military alliance increase its presence in the Nordic territory near Russia as a new Cold War re-emerges.

The nation of just over 10 million people, which has an efficient army and built its fighter jets, completed its entry process in Washington after Hungary was the last NATO member state to approve its membership.

Hungarian hardline Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, seen as the most pro-Russian leader in the European Union, agreed on the accession after Sweden pledged to send Hungary fighter jets.

Sweden already agreed with fellow NATO member states Denmark, Finland, and Norway to begin creating a unified Nordic air defense to counter the rising threat from Russia.

Integrating the Nordic air forces will create a regional fleet of about 250 fighter jets, on par with military power Britain, in an effort to offer deterrence against would-be attackers.

There was little time to celebrate its NATO entry as Swedish armed forces already joined the alliance this week for the most extensive exercises in decades, contributing troops, helicopters, and fighter jets.

The exercises — involving over 20,000 troops from more than a dozen countries — are taking place in a high north being transformed by the accession of Sweden and, recently, Finland.

TURNING HISTORY

Both nations turned their backs on long histories of nonalignment after Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago amid broader fears of a wider conflict.

Thursday’s handover of documents in Washington was overseen by U.S. President Joe Biden, who noted that NATO “is stronger than ever.”

And in a clear message to Russia, which critics said sought to divide the alliance, he added that “NATO stands more united, determined, and dynamic.” Biden stressed that “together with our newest ally, Sweden – NATO will continue to stand for freedom and democracy for generations to come.”

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson echoed those sentiments, saying that “unity and solidarity” would be Sweden’s “guiding lights.”

Outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Sweden brings “capable armed forces and a first-class defense industry” and that the alliance had become “stronger and safer.”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky also welcomed Sweden’s accession to the alliance, saying, “One more country in Europe has become more protected from Russian evil.”

However, Moscow has warned it will take unspecified political and military measures in response to Sweden’s move.

MASSIVE EXPANSION

Russian President Vladimir Putin had used the previous expansion of NATO and what he views as its interference in Russia’s affairs as arguments for the invasion of Ukraine. But the invasion backfired, and with Sweden’s and Finland’s memberships, NATO’s border with Russia doubled.

Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) eastern frontier with Russia and with Sweden, NATO now borders most of the Baltic Sea.

The two Nordic states fortify NATO’s northern flank and reduce the possibility of the Baltic states being isolated from other members if a military conflict erupts with Russia.

Their entry would allow supplies and reinforcements to arrive at the Baltic states by sea if war with Russia broke out, and ground and air deliveries would be difficult.

Moscow would face major military obstacles, however, as these states chose the protection of NATO’s Article Five, which says an attack on one member is an attack on all.

Currently, the only land corridor between the Baltic states and the rest of Europe is the strategic territory known as the Suwałki Gap. That area separates the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad from Belarus, which forms a union state with Moscow and has received Russian tactical nuclear weapons.

The expansion of NATO and war in Ukraine have increased East-West tensions to their highest level since the Cuban Missile Crisis. That 1962 confrontation between the United States and the then Moscow-ruled Soviet Union is widely regarded as the closest the world came to nuclear warfare.