On Monday, Finland’s parliament unanimously approved a new Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) with the US that gives the US military access to 15 bases in the Nordic nation, which shares an over 800-mile border with Russia.
One of the places where the US can now position troops and equipment is a border guard base in the northern Finnish town of Ivalo. The base is just 20 miles from the Russian border, making it the closest military facility to Russia that US troops can access.
The US and Finland signed the DCA in December 2023, following Helsinki’s accession into NATO earlier that year. By admitting Finland, NATO has more than doubled its border with Russia, and Moscow has responded by building up its military forces in the western portion of the country.
The US signed a similar DCA with Sweden, which was ratified by the Swedish parliament last month. The deal gives the US access to 17 bases in Sweden and allows the US military to travel freely through the country.
The Swedish DCA faced opposition from Sweden’s Green and Left parties, but it passed through parliament in a vote of 266-37, and 46 members of parliament didn’t vote. The opposition’s main critique was that the agreement leaves open the possibility of the US storing nuclear weapons on Swedish territory, as it does in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, and Turkey under NATO’s nuclear sharing program.
Tell us again how NATO membership expansion has nothing to do with Putin attacking Ukraine.
20 miles from the border?
You have it back to front for 40+ years of the Soviet Union and 25+ years after that neither the Finns nor the Swedes had majority for applying for NATO membership.
But just a bit more than one year of Putin's new world order and you have them applying for NATO membership. So it is not so much NATO expanding as Putin scaring nations to apply for membership.
Why wouldn't Sweden and Finland want to place themselves under US military protection? Sounds like a great deal for them.
Well they did not want to do so for 40+ years of the Soviet Union – which speaks a great lot to how likely they thought it was that the SU would invade.
Given the relative force strength back then and now (which has changed to the better for Finland and Sweden) the question you are left with is why now.
Yes Virginia, We ARE the World's Policeman. There are millions of American kids right now who are dreaming of the day they will get to fight to protect the borders of Finland and Lithuania. Yahoo!!!
Well they lined up with the Reich last time too.
”Let’s make a Deal?!” Holy cow! Enough is enough. Make some damn peace deals for heck’s sake!!!
It's a Border guard base… But it's only 20 miles from the Border…!!!
What is your issue with that?
If Russia based troops and equipment in Mexico or Canada just 20 miles from the US border America would have a fit.
Another provocation which can lead to an extinction level event and it is all America's fault.
Neither Canada nor Mexico would like to have Russian troops on their territory as they are not very concerned that the US would invade them.
If the Cubans would like to have Russian troops on their territory I think the US would react fairly relaxed like the west did when Putin gave the Belarussians nukes and stationed nukes in Kaliningrad.