Sweden's successful accession to NATO further strengthened NATO's encirclement posture against Russia. The decision went through a series of twists and turns, in which the attitude of Turkey and Hungary played a key role. NATO's expansion poses a challenge to Russia, forcing it to reassess its defense portfolio, especially in the Baltic region. With Sweden joining, Russia is under greater military pressure and may need to strengthen Kalininga.
After Sweden joined NATO, Russia's strategic space in the Baltic region was significantly squeezed. NATO's collective defense mechanism and military integration significantly limit Russia's freedom of movement in the region and increase the risk of miscalculation or conflict with NATO. This may be regarded as a major threat by Russia, so a series of countermeasures may be taken, including strengthening armaments, updating strategic systems, and even increasing military activities in the surrounding area.
In addition, Sweden's accession to NATO has triggered a reshaping of Russian-Swedish and Russian-Finnish relations. Russia has repeatedly and strongly opposed Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO, believing that this has undermined the original situation of peace and stability and is not conducive to the development of bilateral relations. This could lead to a loss of political trust between Russia and the Nordic countries, as well as relations and people-to-people exchanges.
At the same time as Sweden's accession to NATO, Russia has taken a major step, with Putin signing a decree to rebuild the two military districts of Moscow and Leningrad, strengthening Russia's military presence in the west. In addition, Russia announced that it would increase the number of military personnel to 1.5 million in the next three years in preparation for a protracted confrontation with NATO. Russian press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Russia's military expansion is a response to Western actions and should be unconditionally guaranteed.
Russia had to make such a move, considering that it is one of the largest countries in the world by area and has a long state border. With NATO's eastward expansion, and Sweden and Finland joining NATO, Russia is facing unprecedented military pressure. Therefore, Russia must respond more flexibly and diversely in terms of foreign and security policy. Such an adjustment is fully justified. In the future, Russia will need to reorient itself strategically and strive to find a new security balance. This will become an important issue of great concern in international relations. The defense forces of the Le region and the Northern Fleet to defend against potential threats.