Russia Warns Of Nuclear Deployment If Sweden And Finland Join NATO

One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies has warned NATO that if Sweden and Finland joined the U.S.-led military alliance then Russia would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in a European exclave.

Finland, which shares a 1,300-km border with Russia, and Sweden are considering joining the NATO alliance with Prime Minister Sanna Marin saying on Wednesday that Finland will decide in the next few weeks.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said that should Sweden and Finland join NATO then Russia would have to strengthen its land, naval and air forces in the Baltic Sea.

Medvedev also explicitly raised the nuclear threat by saying that there could be no more talk of a “nuclear free” Baltic – where Russia has its Kaliningrad exclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.

Medvedev, who was Russian president from 2008 to 2012 said, “There can be no more talk of any nuclear-free status for the Baltic – the balance must be restored,”

Medvedev said he hoped Finland and Sweden would see sense. If not, he said, they would have to live with nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles close to home.

When asked how Washington views the potential addition of Sweden and Finland to NATO in light of Russia’s warning, the U.S. State Department said there was no change in Washington’s position and repeated that “NATO’s open door is an open door.”

Russia has the world’s biggest arsenal of nuclear warheads and along with China and the United States is one of the global leaders in hypersonic missile technology.