<h5>What is NATO?</h5><p>The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is made up of countries from Europe and North America. Each of these countries works together to protect each other even if one of them is attacked.</p><p>NATO was formed in 1949 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The member countries collaborate on military operations, disaster aid, and keeping their people safe from dangers such as terrorism.</p><p>Until recently, there were 30 member countries in NATO. Finland’s NATO membership was ratified on 4th March 2023, increasing the number of members to 31. Finland's membership ends the country’s seven decades of military non-alignment.</p><h5>Why did Finland join NATO?</h5><div class="raw-html-embed"><video width="100%" controls=""> <source src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/newsahoot.appspot.com/o/finland-joins-nato%2Fnato%E2%80%99s-video-welcoming-finland.mp4?alt=media&amp;token=a386ab97-32d9-40fa-8a82-052502a73922" type="video/mp4"> </video></div><p>Finland rushed to apply for NATO membership in May 2022, followed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They feared that Russia could attack them too. If this were to happen, Finland would be unable to defend itself.</p><p>One of the quickest ways to change this scenario was to join NATO. In addition to military advantages, joining NATO meant improving Finland's diplomatic ties with other NATO members.</p><p>Finland’s membership also increases the length of NATO’s border with Russia and strengthens its eastern flank. This is a strategically important move since the Russia-Ukraine war continues to go on with no end in sight.</p><h5>How did Russia and Ukraine react to this news?</h5><figure class="image"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/newsahoot.appspot.com/o/finland-joins-nato%2Fforeign-ministers-of-the-31-member-countries.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=742dda0f-2dd4-4bf1-a30e-e3997bc7f168"><figcaption><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Foreign ministers of the 31 member countries. Photo by NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Russia was not happy (to put it lightly) when Finland announced that it had applied for NATO membership in 2022. In fact, Russia said that it would take severe measures to protect itself in response. Now that Finland is a member, Russia is living up to its word.</p><p>In response to the news, Russian officials said the country would expand military capacity in its western and northern areas. The presence of the Russian military would increase even more if NATO troops were given to Finland.</p><p>Ukraine applauded Finland's move. They hope that NATO’s power will increase with a new member joining, and may help put a stop to the Russia-Ukraine war.</p>

Finland applied for NATO membership following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Finland Joins NATO

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Finland Joins NATO

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