Sweden follows Finland in applying for NATO membership

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson formally announced Monday that her country will apply for NATO membership, ending more than 200 years of military neutrality in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.The announcement comes on the heels of a similarly historic declaration by Finland, ready to risk Russia's ire to gain security against its powerful neighbor through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's collective defense guarantee.The Nordic countries joined the European Union in 1995 but had remained outside of NATO to avoid provoking Russia, which has long pushed against the …READ FULL ARTICLE