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Finland's NATO bid and Russia's Belarus nuclear plan
Summary
A look back at 31 March 2023, when Finland's path into NATO narrowed to one remaining approval and Moscow's nuclear announcement loomed over the region.
What did the diplomatic picture look like on 31 March 2023? Two developments from the preceding days framed it: Finland's NATO accession was waiting on a single member, and Russia had announced it would base tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
On 27 March 2023, Hungary's National Assembly voted 182–6 to approve Finland's accession to NATO. That left Turkey as the last NATO member yet to approve Finland's membership in the alliance.
Two days earlier, on 25 March 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus by July. The weapons would be operated by Russian forces. It would be the first time Russian nuclear weapons had been deployed abroad since 1996.
Taken together, the two announcements showed the security map around Ukraine shifting on both sides: one neighbouring country moving closer to the alliance, while Moscow signalled a new military posture in Belarus.
