... Sweden's entry into NATO can help solve a critical problem for military planners mapping out the alliance's defenses against a potential Russian attack: how to rapidly shuttle troops, weapons and other provisions to a front anywhere from the Baltic to the Arctic.
After months of delays, the green light for Sweden's membership means the Nordic nation can finally be woven into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's intricate defense plans, which designate Russia as a primary threat.
The move is more pressing with Russian troops starting to advance in Ukraine again. With Russian President Vladimir Putin's expansionist ambitions apparent, European officials have started warning about the prospect of an attack on NATO within the next few years.
"We know that our eastern neighbor is highly unpredictable and also unfortunately very aggressive," Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said in an interview. "But Sweden knows, and we also tell Sweden, that as members of NATO we are stronger together."
After decades of non-alignment, Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO within months of the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, fearing they were vulnerable to Putin's aggression. ...
Along with its strong navy and formidable air power, Sweden's geography will play a crucial role in helping NATO deter any Russian attack " be it in the Baltics, along the Finnish border, or in the Arctic, officials say.
Given the central part logistics play in sustaining a war, Sweden's roads and railways are often the fastest routes to traverse the curving Scandinavian peninsula, including from one point in Norway to another in the same country.
In the Baltic, long seen as NATO's Achilles heel, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will be able to rely on more immediate help and new routes for supplies from Finland, but also now from Sweden. Sweden's island of Gotland, often referred to as an unsinkable aircraft carrier, cements NATO's position in the region, locking in control of critical naval routes and airspace.
With Sweden and Finland on board, the vulnerability of the Suwalki Gap is also lessened. That's a stretch of land between the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and its ally Belarus which Moscow could cut off in a conflict. Allies in the past would have needed to squeeze through the gap to reinforce the Baltic nations.
Sweden has already said it aims to bolster NATO presence in Latvia by sending troops to the Canadian-led forces there. There are no current plans to station alliance troops in Sweden, but the matter will be discussed, the senior NATO official said. ...
