Russia deploys new weapons as Finland and Sweden join NATO, calling it "Nordic Nightmare"

Russia will deploy additional weapons in response to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday.

"All the long decades of good neighborliness of these countries with Russia have collapsed", Lavrov said.

Sweden will become the 32nd member of NATO after the Hungarian parliament ratified Stockholm's application last Monday. Finland joined the alliance last year. Both countries applied after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia's response

Lavrov spoke about the expansion of NATO at a diplomatic forum in Antalya, Turkey.

"We have made an organizational decision to create the Moscow and Leningrad Military Districts," Lavrov said. "Additional weapons will be deployed there, which will be adequate to the threats that may arise from the territory of Finland and Sweden."

Putin's Nordic nightmare

With Sweden's accession to NATO, the Baltic Sea has become a "NATO lake." This is "not only a blow to the Kremlin regime, but also 'Putin's new Nordic nightmare,'" according to the Daily Mail.

The strategically important Baltic Sea has been dubbed "NATO's lake." "Sweden's accession to the alliance is the final piece of the puzzle around the sea coasts that are a key maritime gateway for Russia, making it easier for NATO to control and strengthen the vulnerable Baltic states," the British portal assesses.

Analysts suggest that this will mean that Western allies, including the UK and the US, will be "well-prepared to choke off Russia's room for maneuver on the important shipping route if war with Moscow ever breaks out."