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The accession of Finland and Sweden to Nato would boost the alliance's military and naval access in the Baltic Sea against Russia and transform regional “geometry”, President Joe Biden's nominee to become Nato's next supreme allied commander in Europe said on Thursday.
Gen Christopher Cavoli, currently the commander of US Army Europe-Africa, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Nordic countries' membership in Nato would immediately help the alliance.
“From a military perspective, each of those militaries brings quite a bit of capability and capacity to the alliance from day one,” he said.
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Service members of pro-Russian troops drive a tank past a destroyed residential building in the town of Popasna in the Luhansk region, Ukraine. Reuters -
Smoke and dirt rise from the city of Severodonetsk during shelling in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP -
Russian soldiers Alexander Alexeevich Ivanov and Alexander Vladimirovich Bobykin, left, attend their trial hearing in Kotelva, northeastern Ukraine. AP Photo -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, meets with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP -
A man drives a GAZ-21 Volga car past a damaged building in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, on the 92nd day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP -
Public transit workers sweep up shrapnel in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Pro-Russian troops inspect an AT4 anti-tank launcher outside the town of Svitlodarsk in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. Reuters -
People inspect destroyed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles in Irpin, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A local resident pets a cat next to a destroyed house in Vilkhivka village, near Kharkiv, Ukraine. AFP -
The remains of a school in Vilkhivka village, near Kharkiv. AFP -
Widow and daughter of Andriy Vertiev, a Ukrainian serviceman, killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, attend his funeral at Lychakiv cemetery, Lviv, Ukraine. AFP -
Russian serviceman Vadim Shishimarin, centre, leaves a court hearing in Kyiv. EPA -
Kateryna Shelikhova, widow of Oleksandr Shelipov, 62, who was shot dead by a Russian soldier. Reuters -
A child plays against a backdrop of buildings ruined by shelling in Borodyanka, Ukraine. AP -
A Ukrainian woman in the basement of a building used as bomb shelter in Soledar, Donetsk region. AP -
Residents live in a subway station used as temporary shelter in Kharkiv. AP -
Men with salvageable material from damaged buildings after Russian bombing in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine. AP -
A cuddly toy adorns a destroyed Russian battle tank near damaged homes in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A mortar explodes next to a road leading to the city of Lysychansk, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP -
A Ukrainian army vehicle moves towards the front line at a checkpoint near Lysychansk. AFP -
A boy looks at flags honouring soldiers killed while fighting Russian troops, in Kyiv city centre. AP -
A mannequin with a fake gun is placed as bait on a roadside in the Nord Saltivka district of Kharkiv. EPA -
A man looks at a destroyed Russian tank placed as a symbol of war, in central Kyiv. AP -
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a screen at the opening ceremony for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Reuters -
Smoke billows from an oil refinery after an attack outside the city of Lysychansk, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP -
A woman walks by a destroyed apartment building in Bakhmut, Donbas region. AFP -
An elderly woman stands inside her heavily damaged house after it was hit by a missile in Bakhmut. AFP -
A mother with her daughter sit inside a bus as they leave Bakhmut. AFP -
A Ukrainian soldier prepares coffee as he takes a break near an artillery position in the breakaway enclave of Donetsk, in the Donbas region. Reuters -
A Ukrainian soldier exercises near Donetsk. Reuters -
A woman displaced by incessant Russian shelling leaves a metro station where people had been living underground for months in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Getty -
A heavily damaged home spa near Ruski Tyshky village in Ukraine. Getty -
The wreckage of a Ukrainian military helicopter is transported in Kharkiv. Getty -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Polish President Andrzej Duda in Kyiv. EPA -
Two Ukrainian national guard soldiers pay their respects at a cemetery in Kharkiv. AP -
A man pushes a wheelbarrow past a heavily damaged apartment building near Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. Reuters -
The burnt out shells of cars in a residential area near Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. Reuters -
Pro-Russian troops drive a tank in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Reuters -
A Russian soldier takes a break during an operation to demine the territory of Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Reuters -
Relatives and friends attend the funeral of a Ukrainian soldier killed in action, in the Odessa region city of Rozdilna. EPA -
Ukrainians wearing traditional clothing listen to their national anthem as they take part in the celebration of 'Vyshyvanka Day', an annual celebration of Ukrainian folk traditions, in Athens. AFP
Given their strategic coastline — particularly Finland’s 1,300-kilometre border with Russia — their membership “would create a very different geometry to the area”, Gen Cavoli said.
“It provides a bunch of different dilemmas, almost geometric dilemmas that Russia does not have right now as they sail forth from St Petersburg to Kaliningrad,” the US military commander said.
He especially emphasised the strength of Finland’s military, which is equipped with F-18 and F-35 fighter jets, and pointed to the country's previous experience fighting Russia in the 1930s.
Gen Cavoli described Sweden’s naval assets in the Baltic Sea as being of “enormous military significance” to the alliance.
The two Nordic countries officially submitted their bids to join Nato this month in response to Russia' invasion of Ukraine.
Nato member Turkey, however, has so far blocked their entry, saying their failure to label the Kurdish militant organisation the PKK a terrorist group is unacceptable. It has also expressed frustration over restrictions on military exports from the countries to Ankara.
US officials are hopeful these issues can be resolved diplomatically.
Gen Cavoli did not comment on the negotiations but stressed that he looks forward to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance.
On Ukraine, the US general, who speaks fluent Russian, said that Nato has three goals in the war: that Ukraine emerge from the conflict as “independent and free”, that the alliance stay “unified and strong as ever” and that these goals be attained without Nato “engaging in a war with Russia”.
He also assessed that “there are about 22 million tonnes of grain in Ukraine waiting to be pulled out”, but that they have been blocked because of Russia’s dominance in the Black Sea.
On Thursday, a senior US defence official told reporters that Russia has increased its air defence systems on Snake Island in the Black Sea.
“It gives them additional options, it gives them additional flexibility in the northern Black Sea,” the official said.
The Pentagon assessed that Russia has lost almost 1,000 tanks, at least 50 helicopters, three dozen fighter-bomber aircraft and 350 artillery pieces in the three months since it invaded Ukraine.
The official pointed to incremental Russian gains in the eastern part of the country but argued that the fighting could drag on for a long time.
“It is, in fact, very much an artillery duel. And now it's a scrap over smaller pieces of earth and it could go on for quite a while,” the official said.
