Sweden is on the plan to join the Nato military alliance this summer in major blow to Putin

Magdalena Andersson will ask to join Nato at a conference in Madrid in June. Image: Reuters

Sweden is on the verge of clashing with Putin after declaring its desire to join NATO.  In response to Russian aggression against Ukraine, European countries that have stayed outside the bloc have been considering changing their defense strategies.

According to Swedish media reports, Stockholm's leaders have made up their minds and will apply for membership in the coming months.

According to the SVD news site, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and other party officials have declared that their 'objective is for Sweden to join NATO in June this year.'

It might pave the door for Finland, which borders Russia, to do the same, thus setting up a volatile situation on the continent's eastern edge.

Along with Austria, Cyprus, Ireland, and Malta, Sweden and Finland are part of a group of six countries that are members of the European Union but not NATO.

If Sweden and Finland join Nato, the alliance's geographic footprint will grow and extend further along Russia's border. Image Credit: Metro

Following the invasion of Ukraine, a top Nato leader made it clear to both countries that the door was open to them, amid rumors that both are willing to rethink long-held foreign policy positions.

The military committee's chair, Admiral Rob Bauer, stated on Tuesday that countries have the sovereign right to determine whether or not to apply for membership.

Bauer told reporters in Seoul that Nato was not a demanding organization that had put any pressure on any country to join or deliver arms to Ukraine.

Anonymous Putin has made a major strategic miscalculation,' according to US officials, by pressuring countries who have long refused to join Nato to do so.

The ongoing conflict is fueled by the alliance's expansion into countries previously under Moscow's sphere of control, as well as Ukraine's desire to join.

An official told The Times earlier this week that discussions on Sweden and Finland joining NATO had been "a topic of discourse and many meetings" with Nato leaders.

Today, Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist is visiting a military site in Latvia, where Swedish troops have participated in NATO drills. (Image: Reuters)

Sanna Marin, Finland's prime minister, said that she is considering applying, adding that "Russia is not the neighbor we thought it was."

The Kremlin has already expressed its displeasure with the potential of the alliance expanding its footprint along Russia's western border.

'We have consistently stated that the alliance remains a mechanism geared toward confrontation, and its continued extension will not bring stability to the European continent,' Dmitry Peskov, Mr. Putin's spokeswoman, said on Monday.

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