Finland NATO accession, Russia responds

TIMELINE OF EVENTS FOLLOWING FINLAND’S NATO ACCESSION | STAGE 1: Russia's Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, recently announced that the Belarusian Air Force Fighter Jets had acquired the ability to launch nuclear weapons, which was previously unavailable. Additionally, the Belarusian Army received Iskander-M systems capable of launching nuclear missiles. As of April 3, 2023, Belarusian military officers began training at a Russian center where they received detailed instruction on the use of regular nuclear ammunition. The Belarusian officers will complete a full training cycle, but it is unknown how long this will take. Shoigu stated that these developments were in response to the heightened war readiness of the combined NATO forces. Critics argue that Russia has been supplying Belarus with weapons long before Finland's accession to NATO, suggesting they were aware of Finland's plans. This escalation is considered dangerous.

Russia has repeatedly warned that Finland's accession to NATO would result in significant consequences. In response to Finland's declaration of interest in joining NATO, Putin was quoted as wishing Finland "good luck with that." NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg noted that Putin wanted NATO forces removed from Eastern European member states, but instead, NATO has increased its presence in the region. Belarusian armored forces have been growing rapidly, located about 10km from the Polish border, wearing "Z" symbols recognized as a Russian Army symbol.

Two days ago, Belarusian President Lukachenko announced that their ballistic nuclear weapons construction had been completed. Belarus has a military force of approximately 100,000 personnel or slightly less, with a reserve of 150,000 men. Russia and Belarus are in a union known as The Union State, which suggests they may merge into a single country in the future. According to the Union State agreements, they fight and die together. ON TO STAGE 2 join the telegram channel