Sweden, Finland & Norway Deepen Defense Ties with the West

Sweden, Finland, and Norway (the only NATO member of the three) are inching closer to the western sphere of defense. Russian incursions over the past few years – from Georgia in 2008 to Ukraine in 2014 – and the need to bolster overall defense in response to an increasingly unstable security environment in Europe have prompted the move.

This month, a senior Russian lawmaker said Russia would move its S-400 anti-aircraft missiles into Kaliningrad, a Russian territory sandwiched in between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea, opposite Sweden’s southern tip. Russia has also reportedly moved some of its nuclear-capable Iskander short-range ballistic missiles into Kaliningrad. Last month, Russian media claimed Russia is adding warships armed with long-range cruise missiles to its Baltic Fleet.