Russia threatens to bolster military defence in Baltic if Sweden & Finland join NATO

Russia will be forced to bolster its military defence in the Baltic region if Finland and Sweden consider applying for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), stated former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The close ally to incumbent Russian President Vladimir Putin, Medvedev warned that Moscow could tap on its nuclear arsenal if the Nordic countries joined the West-led military alliance. In a Telegram post, Medvedev, who is the deputy chair of Russia's security council, flagged that Moscow would "more than double" its forces in Russia's western flank should Sweden and Finland approach NATO.

"It will no longer be possible to talk about any non-nuclear status of the Baltic — the balance must be restored," ex-Russian president and close ally of Putin wrote in Telegram.

Russia "had not taken such measures and was not going to...but if our hand is forced, well...take note, it wasn't us who proposed this," Medvedev said.

Apart from ground and air-defences, Russia will also beef up its naval forces with significant deployment in the Gulf of Finland, Medvedev warned. Sweden and Finland's accession to the intergovernmental military bloc would increase the Russian land border with NATO members, Medvedev explained. "Naturally, we will have to reinforce these borders" with additional air and naval forces, he added.

It is to note that Medvedev served as the President of the Russian Federation from 2008 to 2012. It was the four-year gap for Putin in his two-decade rule.

Will Russia resort to a nuclear weapon?

Medvedev's threat is the latest in many nuclear attack warnings coming from Kremlin. “Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they’ve faced so far militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons," CIA director William Burns told The Guardian, adding that the ex-Russian president's remarks were "obviously very concerning." However, he added that as of now there is no practical evidence to prove that Kremlin is actually acting on its rhetorical or "moving to higher nuclear alert levels."

Parroting Medvedev's remarks, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko stated that if Sweden and Finland join NATO, it would be deemed necessary to enhance Russian defence in order to combat "the most undesirable consequences" that may arise from the changing military situation in the region.

Sweden, Finland mulling over NATO membership

Prompted by the Russian war in Ukraine, leaders in Finland and Sweden for the first time have expressed willingness to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), a move likely to infuriate Moscow. Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin last Wednesday stated that Finland shared a 1,300 km border with Russia and is likely to reach a decision over NATO application "in the coming weeks." A day later, Swedish PM Magdalena Andersson also reckoned that there was "no point delaying" the application.

The matter was also taken up during the NATO foreign minister's summit in Brussels, which was attended by top diplomats from Stockholm and Helinski, US State Department officials had said. Following the developments, NATO officials told CNN that the deliberations over the Nordic countries joining the bloc have gotten "extremely serious" since the Russian invasion.

(Image: AP)