Ravlunda, Sweden (June 1, 2022): Russian Dictator Vladimir Putin says he invaded Ukraine because NATO was expanding along his borders, something he found profoundly threatening.

By slaughtering innocents in Ukraine, Putin gambled other free nations would be intimidated into not joining NATO. He bet wrong.

In fact, his actions have had the opposite effect.

Two long-time neutral countries, Finland, and Sweden, just applied for NATO membership which would add 830 miles to the Alliance’s border with Russia. This is precisely the opposite of Putin’s stated goals. As both nations are traditional U.S. allies, our armed forces train together regularly to integrate strategy and equipment.

In this photo by Corporal Immanuel Johnson, U.S. Marines join an International Corps of Marines from Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom to conduct amphibious assaults on a beachhead in Ravlunda, Sweden. These exercises are part of a 17 nation NATO effort to coordinate air, land and sea forces should any member come under attack.

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