Hello,

This maybe should have been a long time ago, but here we go now. I’ll try to update this, and please suggest additions/modifications in comments too.

1. Attitude towards Russia and NATO in Finland
* [Eva poll: 60% back Finland joining Nato](https://yle.fi/news/3-12369943) (22.3.)
* [Survey: Majority of Finns consider Russia a significant military threat](https://yle.fi/news/3-12369943)
* [Government report on changes in the security environment](https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/164002/VN_2022_20.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y) (pdf)
2. What about that missile near Finnish border?
* The video is considered as a instrument of infowar: https://twitter.com/maraj60/status/1513585918954909715 (the author is ex-military intelligence officer), zooming in road sign etc.
* Russia has multiple military bases near Finnish border, so single vehicles moving is nothing special
* https://www.reddit.com/r/Finland/comments/u2pq8a/megathread_finland_war_in_ukraine_and_nato/i4lp7gj/
3. Reddit discussions in /r/Finland:
* About NATO: https://www.reddit.com/r/Finland/search/?q=NATO&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&t=all&sort=new
* About Ukraine: https://www.reddit.com/r/Finland/search?q=Ukraine&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=new&t=all
4. Trusted news sources:
* https://yle.fi/news – Finnish broadcasting company news in English
* https://www.hs.fi/ – largest Finnish newspaper
* https://www.hs.fi/newsinrussian/ – Russian news by HS

All suggestions, links etc are welcome in comments.

Posts about Nato, Russia or Ukraine which don’t bring anything new will be deleted. So “What you think about Russia/Nato/Ukraine?” threads will be removed.

***FAQ*** updated 2022-4-13

**Has Finland decided to apply for NATO membership?** -> No. It doesn’t work like that in a country like Finland. A proposal is prepared and then presented to the parliament. They vote on the subject. Currently this proposal is being written.

**Is it likely that Finland will apply for NATO?** -> Yes. The majority of politicians support it.

**Nato has this and that rule. What about those?** -> Everything is negotiable. It is stupid to guess what is going to happen as no one really knows.

**Finland will have missiles and NATO forces aimed to Russia.** -> No. This is again negotiable. Norway doesn’t have these. It is unlikely that Finland would agree to host aggressive weapon systems. That would be counterproductive. However, I think it is likely that Finland would welcome anti-air or anti-missile weapon’s systems in Finland if presented with this option.

7 comments

  1. A couple other common questions/comments:

    Has Finland decided to apply for NATO membership? -> No. It doesn’t work like that in a country like Finland. A proposal is prepared and then presented to the parliament. They vote on the subject. Currently this proposal is being written.

    Is it likely that Finland will apply for NATO? -> Yes. The majority of politicians support it.

    Nato has this and that rule. What about those? -> Everything is negotiable. It is stupid to guess what is going to happen as no one really knows.

    Finland will have missiles and NATO forces aimed to Russia. -> No. This is again negotiable. Norway doesn’t have these. It is unlikely that Finland would agree to host aggressive weapon systems. That would be counterproductive. However, I think it is likely that Finland would welcome anti-air or anti-missile weapon’s systems in Finland if presented with this option.

  2. What’s up with this bullshit news regarding Russian troops moving (they moved some anti ship missiles for whatever, doesn’t effect anything.), Finns getting ready for war… Etc.

    Is there an agenda pushing by Nato?

  4. The likelihood of Finland (and Sweden) joining NATO might be slim since Hungary’s Viktor Orban (a Putin puppet and an EU/NATO trojan horse) will likely reject the application. Other countries that might reject it would be Turkey (who plays both sides) and France (if LePen wins presidency).

    Change my mind.

    Edit: Thanks everyone for downvoting me into oblivion, it actually gives me hope about Finland’s (and Sweden’s) adherence into NATO, which I truly and wholeheartedly support.

  5. metaculus (a fairly US-focused site) currently thinks finland is about [90% likely](https://www.metaculus.com/questions/10085/finland-to-join-nato-by-2024/) to join NATO before 2024. for context, through most of march the odds varied from 50-30%, and the odds for [sweden to join NATO](https://www.metaculus.com/questions/10084/sweden-to-join-nato-before-2024/) were slightly lower, but close to the same.

    i’m curious if finns think these odds are reasonable, or too high/low?

  6. The one worry I have, even bigger than a Russian attempt to seize Finnish territory, is the French election going sideways and having a Russian puppet in the Elyseè palace. I don’t even like Macron, but he sure beats the alternative.

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