The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has warned that Russia would respond if Nato began to bolster the military infrastructure of Sweden and Finland, which have both decided to join the alliance after the invasion of Ukraine.
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Putin has repeatedly cited the post-Soviet enlargement of Nato eastwards towards Russia's borders as a reason for the invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking to the leaders of a Russian-dominated military alliance of former Soviet states, Putin said the enlargement of Nato was being used by the US in an 'aggressive' way, to aggravate an already difficult global security situation.

Russia, Putin said, had no problem with Finland or Sweden, so there was no direct threat from Nato enlargement to include those countries.

'But the expansion of military infrastructure into this territory would certainly provoke our response,' Putin said

Russia-Ukraine war: Putin warns military expansion in Finland and Sweden ‘would demand reaction’ – live ► https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/may/16/russia-ukraine-war-latest-news-swedish-pm-to-seek-parliaments-support-for-joining-nato-live

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