Northern Europe

Russia Warns of ‘Negative’ Consequences if Sweden and Finland Join NATO

By ITAR-TASS

The accession to NATO by Sweden and Finland will lead to dangerous negative changes in the Baltic Sea Region, the Russian Foreign Ministry says.

Is the Crisis in Ukraine Pushing Sweden Towards NATO?

The crisis in Ukraine, as well as increased tensions in the Baltic Sea region, has stoked the public debate on security and defense in Sweden. On May 26, the Institute of International Affairs brought Nordic, European, and US perspectives together for a discussion on the future of Swedish defense cooperation and specifically its relationship with […]

Concerned About Russian Invasion, Estonia Plans ‘Data Embassies’ in Allied Countries

By Tom Cheshire, SKY News

Estonia intends to back up crucial national databases in the UK and other countries, because of fears of a Russian invasion.

Estonia Exercise Shows NATO’s Growing Worry About Cyber Attacks

By Peter Apps, Reuters

With more than 300 participants and teams from 17 nations, organizers said it [Estonia’s Locked Shields cyber exercise] was the largest international cyber maneuver yet mounted, simulating an attack on a fictional nation called “Berylia” by a 50-strong team of computer experts.

NATO’s Biggest ISR Exercise Currently Testing Drones and Satellites

By NATO

Unified Vision 2014 . . . is NATO’s biggest ever trial of Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JISR), comprising satellites, aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, naval vessels, ground sensors and human intelligence from 18 NATO Allies.

NATO Steps Back Into the USSR

By Steven Erlanger, New York Times

Is the confrontation a Ukraine problem or a Russia problem? Is it a blip, which can be treated like a speed bump before returning to the straight, rich road of commerce, or is it something fundamental, not so much a challenge to the postwar order as a break with it, blowing a hole in that […]

European Ground Troops Need to Join US Units Defending NATO’s Eastern Allies

By Steven Pifer, Financial Times

Given Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine, companies of airborne soldiers have been deployed to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to assure those countries and serve as tripwires. But the soldiers are all Americans. Where are the Europeans?

Conversation with Finnish Undersecretary Matti Anttonen

On the afternoon of Monday, May 20, the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center held a private, roundtable conversation with Matti Anttonen, undersecretary of state for external economic affairs in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. Ambassador Anttonen was introduced by Ambassador John Herbst, director of the Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center.

Unprotected in the East: NATO Appears Toothless in Russia Crisis

By Spiegel

According to information SPIEGEL obtained by SPIEGEL, a draft version of a comprehensive, restricted internal NATO assessment of the situation reads: “Russia’s ability to undertake significant military action with little warning presents a wider threat to the maintenance of security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area.