Russia says it will take ‘retaliatory steps’ after Finland joins Nato

Russia has vowed to retaliate if Finland joins Nato, following Helsinki’s announcement that it wants to apply for membership. Russia foreign ministry says the move is a ‘radical change’ to Finland’s policy. Whereas, Finland and Sweden is all set to join Nato, amid Russia Ukraine war. 

Earlier both the countries were not into joining Nato, but after the Russia invasion of Ukraine the countries thought it would be beneficial for security to join alliance. Nato has expressed confidence that security challenges can be tackled in the interim, while the UK has said it will provide military protection if the countries are attacked.

Meanwhile, Russia on 24th February launched its invasion of Ukraine. And, according to the latest updates, A Ukrainian commander in Mariupol has appealed directly to Elon Musk, asking the world’s richest man to intervene on behalf of those trapped by Russian forces in control of the southern city. Ukraine has said it will suspend the flow of gas through a transit point that it says delivers almost a third of the fuel piped from Russia to Europe through Ukraine. Also, Ukraine claimed it has recaptured Pytomnyk, a village north of Kharkiv, about halfway to the Russian border. However, Finland’s president, Sauli Niinisto, is expected to give a green light on Thursday for the country to join the NATO military alliance, while Sweden is expected to do so in the coming days.