Finland will officially join NATO tomorrow when the military alliance kicks off a crunch summit.
The Nordic nation, along with Sweden, applied for membership last May - just weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine.
All 30 existing member countries have ratified the process for Finland - meaning Helsiniki will enjoy full protection of the nuclear-armed coalition from tomorrow.
Hailing a “historic and great day”, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said today: “Tomorrow we will welcome Finland as the 31st member of NATO, making Finland safer and our alliance stronger.”
A flag raising ceremony to add the Finland’s to those of the other members will take place at NATO’s Brussels headquarters this afternoon.
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Sweden’s application for membership is being held up by Turkey, but Mr Stoltenberg insisted: “I’m fully confident that Sweden will become a member.
He was speaking ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP/REX/Shutterstock)“It’s a priority for NATO, for me, to ensure that happens as soon as possible.”
The two nations’ membership is a significant blow for Vladimir Putin’s attempts to repel the Western alliance from Russia’s frontiers.
Neither Sweden nor Finland, which shares an 832-mile border with Russia, had sought membership of NATO until Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
But the conflict triggered Helsinki’s application to the coalition.
“From tomorrow, Finland will be a full member of the alliance - they will participate in all our meetings, activities (and) military structures as a full-fledged member,” said Mr Stoltenberg.
“It will be a good day for Finland’s security, for Nordic security and for NATO as a whole.”
Mr Stoltenberg said the move “demonstrates that NATO’s door remains open”.
He also pointed out that by invading Ukraine, Putin thought Moscow would “get less NATO” - but that with Finland’s accession, “NATO’s land border with Russia more than doubles”.
Former Norwegian Prime Minister Mr Stoltenberg said: “President Putin went to war against Ukraine with the clear aim to get less NATO … and he wanted NATO to make it absolutely clear that NATO’s door was closed for any new membership.
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Putin hoped to get "less NATO" on Russia's borders by invading Ukraine (AP)“He is getting the exact opposite - he’s getting more NATO presence in the eastern part of the alliance and he’s getting two new members with Finland and Sweden.”
The move comes as NATO foreign ministers gather for a two-day summit where they will discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Mr Stoltenberg said that with no end to the conflict in sight, allies would draw up plans for a “multi-year programme” of support for Kyiv.
He insisted allies were “united in our determination to stay the course and support Ukraine for as long as it takes”.
“There are no signs that President Putin is preparing for peace; he is preparing for more war,” warned Mr Stoltenberg.
“We do not know when this war will end but when it does we will need to put in place arrangements so that Ukraine can deter future aggression and history does not repeat itself.
“We cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security.”
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