If, as seems likely, NATO accepts their request, this will be the Atlantic Alliance's biggest and most far-reaching expansion in two decades
Sweden and Finland were both neutral throughout the Cold War, and their decision to join NATO is one of the most significant changes in Europe's security architecture for decades
US officials are trying to determine how serious Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is and what it might take to get him to back down
"Finland and Sweden, as well as other neutral countries, have been participating in NATO military exercises for many years," Lavrov said
The government has decided on a bill that will make it possible for Sweden to receive military support from all European Union and NATO countries, she said
On the battlefields near Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, interior ministry adviser Vadym Denisenko said Ukrainian troops were mounting a counter-offensive
Vladimir Putin has repeatedly cited the post-Soviet enlargement of the NATO alliance eastwards towards Russia's borders as a reason for the invasion of Ukraine.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia's offensive in Donbas had stalled and Ukraine could win the war, an outcome few military analysts predicted
Navy plans to buy 26 MRCBFs, so that INS Vikrant has more strike options
Sweden, after Finland is set to request for a NATO membership looking at the recent turnaround of the ruling party in the country. This decision also comes at the helm of Russian conflict with Ukraine
Security concerns over Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine changed the calculus for Finland and Sweden which have long espoused neutrality
Putin told Sauli Niinisto that Finland's abandonment of its traditional policy of military neutrality would be an error since there are no threats to Finland's security
Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko says Moscow has no hostile intentions towards Finland and Sweden
This comes as Finland and Sweden have started discussing the possibility of abandoning long-term neutrality and joining NATO amid the Russian military operation in Ukraine
Finland's president and prime minister announced that the Nordic country should apply right away for membership in NATO, the military defence pact founded in part to counter the Soviet Union
On May 14, the Secretary will travel to Berlin to attend an informal meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers where Allies and partners will discuss their unified response to Russia's war against Ukraine
Moscow prohibited dealings with Gazprom Germania and its various subsidiaries now under the control of Germany's energy regulator
The announcement by President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin means Finland is virtually certain to seek NATO membership
The two nations are expected to join NATO, but both are worried they would be vulnerable while their applications are processed.
Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russian forces of targeting civilians in the war, which Moscow denies.