The Russia-Ukraine war drives countries to consider NATO membership

The Russia-Ukraine war drives countries to consider NATO membership

Transcript¹

Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in part, to prevent it from joining NATO. The war has so frightened Finland and Sweden that they are looking to join the military alliance.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

When Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, he said it was partly to stop Ukraine from joining NATO. Instead, the war is driving more countries toward the military alliance. Finland shares a long border with Russia, and the country's lawmakers say they're horrified² by the assault on Ukraine, so they're debating whether they should join NATO. NPR's Frank Langfitt is in Helsinki.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRDS CAWING)

FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE³: Most Finns have opposed joining NATO for decades. And why not? Staying outside of the Cold War-era alliance has avoided provoking the Russian bear across the border.

(SOUNDBITE OF ACCORDION⁴)

LANGFITT: People such as Yoni Kaipia (ph), an architect and a photographer, didn't want Finland to become caught up in military competition. We spoke⁵ on a gloriously sunny day in Helsinki's harbor, as a man played an accordion for change.

YONI KAIPIA: I always thought myself being a pacifist, and NATO for me was part of the militarization of the world.

LANGFITT: But the invasion has transformed thinking in this Scandinavian country of 5 1/2 million. A recent poll showed that as many as 68% of Finns now want to join the alliance, which has pushed politicians here to fast-track the process. Kaipia says joining NATO is not only a way to protect Finland but also to teach Putin a lesson.

KAIPIA: If he has used the threat of NATO as a justification⁶ for his acts, now we could show that the NATO has to expand because of his acts.

LANGFITT: Finland shares an 830-mile border with Russia. The two countries have lived peacefully for decades, but Finns now see Russia very differently. Atte Harjanne is a legislator who serves on the Parliament's Defence Committee.

ATTE HARJANNE: The intensity⁷, the scale of the attack, the brutality⁸, I guess, woke many people into a world where we have an aggressive authoritarian⁹ regime as our neighbor.

LANGFITT: That realization¹⁰ is a big reason why a NATO bid seems all but certain. Another reason is that the war in Ukraine really resonates here. A little history - Finland spent most of the 19th century as a part of the Russian empire before declaring independence in 1917. In 1939, Moscow demanded Finland trade land that Russia wanted to protect what was then Leningrad. Finland refused. The Soviets¹¹ sent in troops. This was the start of what became known as the Winter War.

HARJANNE: Soviets suffered massive losses. But Finland remained as an independent state, although it lost some land area in the following negotiations¹². That's something that we somehow in our collective memory that - something like that should never happen again.

LANGFITT: Russia's Foreign Ministry¹³ has warned of military and political consequences for Finland if it joins NATO. Harjanne, who's also a captain in the Finnish Reserves, says the threat isn't abstract. He says just look over the Finnish border, where Russian units were stationed until recently.

HARJANNE: The same units that we were expecting, if Russia would attack here, are now locked in fighting Ukraine, and that makes it a bit more concrete - Ukraine is fighting not just for themselves but for Europe and, in some sense, for us as well.

LANGFITT: Of course, the redeployment of troops to Ukraine makes it much harder for Russia to threaten Finland in the short run. And Finland has a substantial army - 180,000 soldiers in wartime, plus 200 tanks and 800 artillery¹⁴ pieces. Some here say public support for NATO membership is driven more by shock over the invasion than an evaluation¹⁵ of risk.

ERKKI TUOMIOJA: I think there's a huge degree of emotions involved.

LANGFITT: Erkki Tuomioja is a lawmaker with the Social Democratic Party, whose leader serves as prime minister.

TUOMIOJA: Public opinion plays a big role in this, but there is also this ingrained fear, which is actually fueled also by our media, which is in a state of, I would say, war psychosis in a sense (laughter) that...

LANGFITT: War psychosis.

TUOMIOJA: Yes. I mean, that Finland could any day expect to be attacked - I don't think this is realistic.

LANGFITT: What do you think are the downsides of joining NATO?

TUOMIOJA: Well, it would create tensions with Russia, obviously. And we have had a very pragmatic relationship with Russia in terms of logistics, environment and regional cooperation.

LANGFITT: Are you concerned that the country could actually take a policy decision based on fear and emotion?

TUOMIOJA: I'm also concerned about the level of the public debate. Anybody who questions membership is being vilified¹⁶ as a Putin agent.

(SOUNDBITE OF FERRY AMBIENCE)

LANGFITT: One day here in Helsinki, I took a ferry to a nearby island where I met Adam Lundgren (ph). He's Swedish and serves in the military there. Sweden is considering NATO membership as well. The country had maintained a policy of military neutrality for about two centuries to avoid becoming embroiled¹⁷ in wars. However, a recent poll shows 57% of Swedes now want to join the alliance. But Lundgren worries his country could be forced to defend another NATO ally and get dragged into a war.

ADAM LUNDGREN: I'm not so happy with NATO. The military service in Sweden has the approach of protecting Sweden. If we say yes to NATO, then we are not only protecting - if another country has problems, then we have to leave the country and fight.

LANGFITT: Do you think Sweden could defend itself alone?

LUNDGREN: I must think so. Our military is quite small right now, but we have many volunteers that has waken up from their slumber¹⁸. So we're growing now.

LANGFITT: In the first week or so after the invasion, nearly 10,000 Swedes applied¹⁹ to serve in the military reserve. That's about twice the number of applications in a normal year. To get a sense of how NATO might receive bids from Finland and Sweden, I called Tomas Valasek. He's a former NATO ambassador from Slovakia.

TOMAS VALASEK: I think, honestly, what took you so long (laughter) will be probably the general sentiment.

LANGFITT: Valasek says not only can NATO help protect both countries - Finland and Sweden can play a valuable role for NATO. In the Baltic Sea, they could provide naval²⁰ support to NATO allies - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - if they ever came under Russian threat. And given Finland's and Sweden's proximity²¹ to Russia, they could also provide real-time military intelligence.

VALASEK: You can't really ignore geography. If you are in Sweden or Finland, you have the capacity to see things via electronics or radar²² deep inside Russia that the Portuguese²³ or the Spanish simply don't have and never will.

LANGFITT: Finland and Sweden are expected to apply to NATO before leaders meet in Madrid at the end of June. That process could take many months. But if all goes to plan, NATO, which numbered 30 members before the war, will grow to 32.

Frank Langfitt, NPR News, Helsinki.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 accordion   

n.手风琴；adj.可折叠的

参考例句：

• The accordion music in the film isn't very beautiful.这部影片中的手风琴音乐不是很好。
• The accordion music reminds me of my boyhood.这手风琴的乐声让我回忆起了我的少年时代。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

7 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

8 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

9 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

10 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

11 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

12 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

13 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

14 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

15 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

16 vilified   

v.中伤，诽谤( vilify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was vilified in newspapers. 他在报纸上受到了诽谤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She was vilified by the press for her controversial views. 因她持有异议，新闻界对她横加挞伐。 来自互联网

17 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 slumber   

n.睡眠，沉睡状态

参考例句：

• All the people in the hotels were wrapped in deep slumber.住在各旅馆里的人都已进入梦乡。
• Don't wake him from his slumber because he needs the rest.不要把他从睡眠中唤醒，因为他需要休息。

19 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

20 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

21 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

22 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

23 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。