Most Finns Back Joining NATO After Russia Invades Ukraine

(Bloomberg) -- Russia's invasion of Ukraine tipped popular opinion in Finland to support joining the NATO defense alliance, despite threats over such plans from its eastern neighbor.

In a first for the Nordic country, a poll by public broadcaster YLE showed 53% of Finns now back membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, with 28% opposed and 19% undecided. Fewer than one third were in favor of joining in an MTV poll in January.

The change adds pressure on Finnish authorities who have reiterated that the European Union member keeps its “option” to join the defense bloc in the face of demands from Russian President Vladimir Putin that NATO should guarantee it won't expand eastward.

“It's fully understandable Finns' attitudes are shifting as a result of Russia's actions and many who may have opposed membership or been undecided are now supporting it,” Prime Minister Sanna Marin told journalists on Monday. People are wondering “if Russia does cross a line, are we alone in that situation or together with others,” she said.

Lawmakers from parliamentary parties will hold a meeting Tuesday to “go over the situation,” she added. Her Swedish counterpart Magdalena Andersson said last Thursday after the start of Russian attack on Ukraine that her nation isn't currently seeking membership in the alliance.

The 5.5 million-nation fought two wars with the Soviet Union between 1939 and 1944, preserving independence it had gained from Czarist Russia during World War I. It then had a special relationship with the USSR as a survival strategy, and stayed out of NATO, like neighboring Sweden.

In another major change, the country agreed to send lethal military aid to Ukraine, including 2,500 assault rifles with ammunition and 1,500 single-shot anti-tank weapons, Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen told reporters in Helsinki.

A public petition urging the country's authorities to hold an advisory referendum on NATO entry reached the needed 50,000 participant threshold in just a few days and by Monday evening more than 71,000 people had signed. More than 90% of the signatures came after Russia's attack.

Russia's foreign ministry wrote last Friday on Twitter that Finland's accession to NATO would have serious military and political repercussions. Finland's border with Russia is the longest among European Union members, at around 1,300 kilometers (800 miles).

Finland and Sweden have gradually moved closer to the defense bloc and the U.S. since the mid-1990s. A survey released by Swedish broadcaster SVT last Friday showed public backing for NATO entry has grown to 41% now and is exceeding opposition.

The YLE poll surveyed people from Feb. 23 to 25, and Russia launched its attack on Feb. 24. It showed 48% of Finns considered a referendum on the issue unnecessary, versus 41% supporting it, while 10% were undecided. Two thirds said Finland should apply for NATO membership if Sweden does so, with 20% opposed.

The popular motion on the referendum would require a discussion in parliament once it's submitted. Lawmakers would then decide which committee would handle it and in what time frame.