Army. Finland will contribute 13,000 professional soldiers and 900,000 reservists to NATO, while Sweden hopes to have a total of 90,000 troops by the end of this decade
Except for the copious losses of life, socio-economic decline and financial and political isolation promoted by the international community, Russia’s major defeat in the war with Ukraine will lie in the unexpected extension of NATO’s shadow to places that Moscow believed invariably given its long tradition of neutrality. The possible inclusion of Finland and Sweden into the Alliance at the end of this year will force the Kremlin in the future to guard an additional 1,340 kilometers of land border with its Finnish neighbor – a line barely 200 kilometers shorter than the border with Ukraine – and its freedoms in the Baltic Sea, a primeval sea for the interests of its navy and trade with Saint Petersburg and Kaliningrad, whose coastline is dominated by the Swedes.
The Finnish parliament on Tuesday completed the administrative process for joining the transatlantic organization. By 188 votes to 8, the Chamber supported the government’s initiative and ended the latent 40-year debate on the country’s security in a new geostrategic framework marked by the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the consolidation of the Baltic republics. Finnish history is very similar to that of Sweden: two traditionally neutral countries that are under increasing pressure from neighboring Russia.
Who will benefit most from membership is highly debatable. Helsinki, for example, gets the umbrella of the allied countries, while the Alliance gives an unbeatable territorial rapprochement to Russia. A real balcony. In addition, it adds some armed forces that are among the most advanced in Europe, despite having only 13,000 professional soldiers. His secret lies in the reservists. Virtually all adults who can wield a weapon, 900,000, are part of the reserve, an unusually high number in a country of 5.5 million where compulsory ‘military’ has not been a tradition since 1992.
That the government’s intention to join as a first-order partner goes beyond a simple wish was shown last weekend when hundreds of Finns landed on the military island of Santahamina to undergo exercises similar to the training provided by the brigades. of the Civil Defense of Ukraine before the war. The military has the capacity to simultaneously mobilize 280,000 reservists in an emergency, and the increase in investment allows it to consolidate an imposing combat infrastructure, with state-of-the-art corvettes and a generous purchase plan for 64 US F-35 aircraft.
This last figure gives an idea of the solidity of the Finnish military project. Only 700 fighters of this model operate worldwide. It is the most expensive of the combat aviation – both in purchase price and in operating costs, about 100,000 euros for every hour it is in the air – but also the one with the greatest operability and camouflage capacity against radars. The international competition to acquire an F-35 is illustrated by Germany, which, in the heat of the Ukrainian crisis, has just acquired 35 of these fighters from the United States, in which Spain and France expressed interest.
Northern Europe attends unprecedented days. King Carl Gustav of Sweden admitted on Tuesday that his country’s request to join NATO is “historic” and corresponds to the common “challenges” it faces together with Finland after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The welcome from the Allies seems warm. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will formally receive the two countries’ requests at an event at Alliance headquarters on Wednesday, and Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson will meet with the US President tomorrow. Joe Biden. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He already announced on Tuesday that he considers both countries to be allies. “We are going to intensify our military cooperation, especially in the Baltic region, with joint exercises,” the chancellor said, adding that Sweden and Finland already have Germany’s support “especially in this very specific situation” before joining NATO. .
Sweden will contribute more antiquated armed forces than its Finnish “brother”. Neutrality, established as a principle by the monarchy in the mid-nineteenth century, has its share of responsibility. Compulsory military service has only been made compulsory since 2017 and barely 35% of the population admit to being in favor of NATO (another 30% are against and the rest would have no definitive opinion). Yet the executive branch has long since embarked on a modernization of the military, which began to lay its foundations in 1991 when the conservative Carl Bildt came to power. The prime minister and writer broke with the neutrality principle of the Swedish Social Democratic Party by showing more Atlanticist positions and promoting aid to the Baltic republics.
Russian maneuvers since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, with planes and warships approaching territorial waters, in addition to intelligence reports citing cases of espionage, cyber-attacks and massive purchase of Swedish strategic technology by the Kremlin, have also created a favorable environment for collective defense. This Wednesday, Stockholm will receive NATO a plan that provides for a contingent of 90,000 soldiers within eight years – now there are 60,000 – and an improved arsenal, with ships and submarines better able to guard the Baltic Sea, where the Alliance so desires.
Source: La Verdad
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