On March 7, 2024, Sweden joined NATO, taking NATO to 32 member countries. NATO’s mission is to guarantee the freedom and security of the member countries, by political and military means.

Sweden has been a neutral country since 1834, but it joined due to fear of the Russian military. Russia and Sweden share a 1,340 kilometer border, along with Finland. Finland joined NATO on April 4, 2023.

On Monday, March 11, Sweden’s flag was raised alongside the others at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Sweden first applied to join NATO in May of 2022, soon after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Hungary was the last country that needed to approve Sweden’s admission into NATO, as it needs to be a unanimous decision by all current members.

Now that Sweden has joined NATO, it will have to assist any other member nations during an armed attack, and vice versa. This could end badly for other NATO member countries, should Russia decide to continue into Sweden, as those countries will now have to aid Sweden.