NATO Doubles Border With Russia

• NATO announced Finland will officially become a member of the alliance on Tuesday, doubling the military alliance's shared borders with Russia to 1,584 miles.
• Finland won final approval to join NATO on Thursday. Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Foreign Affairs Minister Pekka Haavisto will be present at the accession ceremony.
• In response, Russia said it will boost its military presence in regions near its borders with Finland.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Monday that Finland will officially become a member of the military alliance this week, which will result in NATO more than doubling its shared borders with Russia.

Finland's admittance to the bloc is perceived by many observers as a diplomatic blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has stated that one of his objectives for his war in Ukraine was to prevent the expansion of NATO on Russia's borders.

Currently, NATO members Norway, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland border Russia or the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Those five countries account for about 754 miles of shared borders with Russia. Finland, meanwhile, shares 830 miles of borders along northwestern Russia. On Tuesday, NATO will officially have a total to 1,584 miles of shared borders with Russia after Finland's accession.

Finland won final approval to join NATO on Thursday after the Turkish Parliament cast the last vote needed for the country's entry. Following the news of Turkey's vote, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö promised his country would "be a strong and capable ally, committed to the security of the alliance."

Niinistö's office said in a Monday statement that the president and Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will be present at the accession ceremony at NATO's headquarters in Brussels.

During remarks made at a Monday press conference, Stoltenberg called Finland's alliance bid the "fastest ratification process in NATO's modern history."

"This is an historic week," he said. "Tomorrow, we will welcome Finland as the thirty-first member of NATO...We will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at the NATO headquarters. It will be a good day for Finland's security, for Nordic security, and for NATO as a whole."

Meanwhile, Russia has already said it will boost its military presence in regions near its borders with Finland.

Speaking to the Kremlin-operated news outlet RIA Novosti, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said "[s]eas of the measures have already been announced" as a result of Finland joining NATO.

"We will strengthen our military capabilities in the western and northwest direction. If the forces and means of other NATO members are deployed on the territory of Finland, we will take additional steps to ensure Russia's military security," Grushko said.

Finland's entry into NATO follows a weekend election that saw left-wing Prime Minister Sanna Marin's party defeated by the right-wing National Coalition Party (NCP). Marin had been a vocal proponent of her country joining NATO, and while she became a recognizable figure in global politics, she drew ire from many voters over her economic policies.

While Finland will be joining NATO this week, a membership bid from Sweden—which submitted a joint application with Finland following Putin's invasion of Ukraine last February—is still being held up over objections from Turkey and Hungary. Nonetheless, Stoltenberg told reporters that he believes Sweden's flag will also soon fly over NATO's headquarters.

"I'm absolutely confident that Sweden will become a member," he said Monday. "It's a priority for NATO, for me to ensure that happens as soon as possible."

Newsweek reached out to Niinistö's office and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email for comment.