Finnish MP Elina Valtonen has said the country is ready to defend itself if Russia responds aggressively to Finland’s application for Nato membership. She said, “Finland is a sovereign country and we are free to make our own decisions, and whatever happens we are prepared.”
Meanwhile, Russia on 24th February launched its invasion of Ukraine. And, according to the latest updates, A Ukrainian commander in Mariupol has appealed directly to Elon Musk, asking the world’s richest man to intervene on behalf of those trapped by Russian forces in control of the southern city. Ukraine has said it will suspend the flow of gas through a transit point that it says delivers almost a third of the fuel piped from Russia to Europe through Ukraine. Also, Ukraine claimed it has recaptured Pytomnyk, a village north of Kharkiv, about halfway to the Russian border. However, Finland’s president, Sauli Niinisto, is expected to give a green light on Thursday for the country to join the NATO military alliance, while Sweden is expected to do so in the coming days.