Finland will apply for NATO membership on May 12, defying Russian threats

Citing anounymous government sources, Finnish newspaper Iltalehti revealed on Sunday that the Nordic country will apply for NATO membership on May 12 – a move which the Kremlin has warned would have serious consequences.  

According to the sources, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto will first announce his approval for the country to join the defense bloc, after which parliamentary groups are expected to give their approval for the application.

The decision will then be confirmed in a high-level meeting between Niinisto and his key ministers, Reuters reported.

Although Finland and Sweden have both avoided joining the security organization, popular support for membership has grown significantly since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Finland – which shares an 810-mile-long border with Russia – previously said that it will decide “in the next few weeks” if it will join the alliance.

The Kremlin, however, has warned that Russia would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles to the heart of Europe if Sweden or Finland join NATO.

Russia’s Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev took to Telegram to warn U.S. and European leaders that, “there can be no more talk of any nuclear-free status for the Baltic - the balance must be restored,” CNBC reported.

Medvedev also noted that Russia would be forced to strengthen its land, naval and air forces should any additions be made to the Western military bloc, adding that Europeans would have to get used to living with nuclear weapons close to home.

Millions of people have been killed, wounded or displaced since Russian President Vladimir Putin first announced his “special military operation” nearly two months ago. Although the United States has been slow to respond to Russian escalations, pundits fear that if the war continues, a wider confrontation between Moscow and Washington – the world’s two biggest nuclear powers – could arise.

Putin has justified his bloody campaign by claiming that the West has been using Ukraine to threaten Russian interests – further alleging that Zelensky’s government launched a systematic persecution of Ukraine’s Russian speaking population.

Ukraine, on the other hand, says it is fighting an imperial-style land grab and that Putin's claims of genocide are not based in fact. U.S. President Joe Biden has repeatedly called Putin a “war criminal” and a dictator and has called for more sanctions against Moscow as it continues to wage a war of attrition in Ukraine’s eastern region.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has pushed Finland and Sweden to the verge of applying for NATO membership and abandoning a belief held for decades that peace was best kept by not publicly choosing sides. 

Reuters was not immediately able to verify the details provided by Iltalehti.

Under the Finnish constitution, the president leads Finland's foreign and security policy in cooperation with the government.

The decision will be confirmed in a meeting between the President and the government's key ministers after the President's and the Parliament's initial announcements, the paper reported.

Russia, with which Finland shares a 1,300-km (810-mile) border and a pre-1945 history of conflict, has warned it will deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in its Baltic coast enclave of Kaliningrad if Finland and Sweden decide to join the U.S.-led NATO alliance.