A senior European defense official told CNN that “if Putin succeeds in Ukraine, then we are already asking the question of who is next?”
The fate of these three countries has been brought into focus by the crisis in Ukraine, as they have unique ties with each other, the rest of Europe, and Russia. The three are members of the Schengen Area of the European Union, which means there is borderless travel between the three countries. Also all three have historically preferred a non-confrontational approach to Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Vladimir Putin has a reputation in the West as an action-oriented man, not as a strategist. The US president Joe Biden once referred to Putin as a “killer”.
“Finland is driven by rational fear. We can see Russia’s aggression and we don’t want to be alone because we were in World War II.” Denmark and Sweden sent lethal equipment to Ukraine, followed by Finland and Sweden despite their previous position of not involving themselves.
It will be hard for Putin and his allies to understand, but their ruthless war in Ukraine has heated up parts of Europe that once leaned back to accommodate Russia in previously unimaginable action.