IN VLAD'S WAY
Sweden and Finland to join Nato as alliance to deploy massive 300,000 force for showdown with Russia
SWEDEN and Finland have been cleared to join NATO after they applied following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
It comes as the alliance has said they will deploy more than 300,000 troops in a showdown with Vladimir Putin.
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It'll be the biggest NATO force to gather since the Cold War.
Russian shares a land frontier with Finland and Sweden a sea border.
Finland first officially applied to join NATO the day after Russia threatened to nuke it in seconds.
Both countries faced strong objections from Turkey, which initially said it would block their applications.
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But these have now been dropped, paving the way for them to join the alliance.
NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said the Russian tyrant is now "getting more NATO on his borders".
The sharp increase in "high readiness" troops comes in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, who are not a member of NATO.
"Together, this constitutes the biggest overhaul of our collective deterrence and defence since the Cold War," said Stoltenberg.
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"We will transform the NATO Response Force and increase the number of our high readiness forces to well over 300,000."
Jens added that the 30-member alliance is expected to consider Russia to be "the most significant and direct threat to our security".
It’s feared Putin could lash out at Nato, in particular Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which were once ruled from Moscow.
And the NATO chief also confirmed the strengthening of units deployed across eight eastern and south-eastern NATO countries to deter Russia hostilities.
They will rise in size from 1,000-strong battlegroups to brigades, which comprise around 3,000-5,000 troops.
Leaders will also discuss plans to bolster the alliance’s eastern flank, outline a new force model, announce funding decisions and publish a 'Strategic Compact' that lays out NATO’s strategy for the years ahead, according to diplomats.
The NATO Response Force is currently around 40,000 soldiers, sailors and air personnel.
They are kept at varying degrees of readiness to mobilise, ranging from two days to six months.
It comes after The Sun reported that NATO is set to create a new 200,000 strong force to “wipe Russia off the earth” if Putin invades an ally country.
The new Allied Reaction Force (ARF) will be a six times larger than the current formation that stands ready to repel Russian aggression, the NATO Response Force (NRF).
NATO’s political and military leaders have sought to use the Russian aggression to galvanise the alliance.
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British general Sir Patrick Sanders issued a rallying call to troops to prepare to fight and beat Russian forces in a Third World War when he recently took command of the UK’s land forces.
And Russia have their own plans as a Kremlin warship recently violated NATO waters twice in what was described as an “unacceptable provocation”.
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