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Finland officially joins NATO, as Russia says it may have to respond
Finland shares a 1,340km (832-mile) border with Russia, so its entry will more than double the size of NATO's border with the nation.Finland applied to join NATO in May 2022, setting aside years of military nonalignment to seek protection under the organisation's security umbrella after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The move is a strategic and political blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has long complained about NATO's expansion toward Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Helsinki's move to join the bloc an "encroachment" on Russia's security and said the structure of NATO was hostile towards Russia.
A ceremony was held outside the organisation's Brussels headquarters to raise Finland's blue and white flag among those of its partners.
It falls on NATO's birthday, the 74th anniversary of the signing of its founding Washington Treaty on 4 April 1949. It also coincides with a meeting of the alliance's foreign ministers.
It is the first enlargement of NATO since North Macedonia joined the alliance in 2020.