Sweden joins Finland in seeking Nato membership

Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson talks during the parliamentary debate on the Swedish application for Nato membership in Stockholm (Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency via AP)

Sweden has decided to join neighbouring Finland in seeking Nato membership, ending more than two centuries of military non-alignment in a historic shift prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson warned that the Nordic country would be in a “vulnerable position” during the application period and urged her fellow citizens to brace themselves for the Russian response.