For the past decade, the threat of invasion has loomed large over the Baltic states of Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. And that protection suddenly seems very attractive to Finland and Sweden – both nations which remained neutral for the entirety of the Cold War. But such signalling is more likely to convince Finland and Sweden of Russia's hostility than deter any decision to join Nato. Putin defangedOn Wednesday, Putin threatened to react with "lightning-quick" force if Nato intervened in Ukraine. Bordering on insanityPutin says the Ukraine invasion was to neutralise "a real danger of … a major conflict that would have unfolded on our territory according to other people's scripts".

Source: New Zealand Herald April 30, 2022 22:34 UTC