How Sweden and Finland went from neutral to Nato

Sweden is now set to neighbouring Finland as a new Nato member, after Turkey's president withdrew a series of objections.

Finland officially ed the Western defensive alliance in April, bringing the number of member states to 31.

The two Nordic states have long maintained military neutrality, but that changed in February 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine - the biggest war on the European continent since World War Two.

Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion shattered a long-standing sense of stability in northern Europe, leaving Sweden and Finland feeling vulnerable.

Finnish ex-Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said ing the alliance was a "done deal" for his country as soon as Russian troops invaded Ukraine last year.

For many Finns, the war brought a haunting sense of familiarity.

It was in late 1939 that the Soviets invaded Finland. For more than three months the Finnish army put up fierce resistance, despite being heavily outnumbered. Finland held out until March 1940 but lost its eastern province of Karelia to Russia.

They avoided occupation, but ended up losing 10% of their territory.

Watching the war in Ukraine unfold was like reliving this history, said Iro Sarkka, a political scientist at the University of Helsinki. Finns were looking at their 1,340km (830 mile) border with Russia, she said, and thinking: "Could this happen to us":[]}