To say that Vladimir Putin misjudged the impact of his invasion of Ukraine is quite the understatement, and this week provided us with yet another example of just how wrong the Kremlin was.
In the early days of the invasion, Russia insisted that they were entering Ukraine with the hopes of “de-nazifying” the nation…that just so happened to have elected a Jewish President whose ancestors were victimized in The Holocaust.
Then the Kremlin attempted to tell the world that they were there to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO – despite there being no evidence that the sovereign nation was ever even considering such a move.
But, thanks to the brutality and belligerence of Russia’s invasion, the Kremlin will now have a much larger NATO border to deal with.
NATO leaders formally invited Finland and Sweden to become members of the military alliance Wednesday during a summit in Madrid.
“Today we have decided to invite Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO, and agreed to sign Accession Protocols,” the alliance said in a declaration following meetings between world leaders. “The accession of Finland and Sweden will make them safer, NATO stronger, and the Euro-Atlantic area more secure.”
And there is little doubt that this is all Putin’s fault.
NATO officials have repeatedly said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has completely changed the security apparatus in Europe and NATO members and allied nations have responded accordingly.
And, if this wasn’t bad enough for Vladimir Putin, the US will also be setting up its first permanent troop presence in nearby Poland, bolstering the American military contingent on Europe’s eastern edge.
