The Diplomat
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said yesterday that Moscow will have to implement a change in its security policies in the Baltic and Arctic region following the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO. “The official participation of Helsinki and Stockholm in NATO’s strategic planning, the possible provision of the territory of these states for the deployment of strike weapons will change the security conditions in the Baltic and Arctic region,” Shoigu said.
Russia will therefore have to review its “approaches” to defence, he said in Moscow during the Military Forum Army 2022, where he also assured that the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine. For Shoigu, the Swedish and Finnish approaches to the Alliance “have been going on for many years” with initiatives such as the Nordic Defence Cooperation, which he described as “the northern branch of NATO” that serves as a “cover” for these countries to participate in NATO training.
Shoigu ruled out Russia’s intention to use chemical or nuclear weapons during the war with Ukraine and denied that Western support for Kiev’s side had affected the course of Moscow’s planned conflict.
