The Baltic Sea is about to become a Nato lake, facing Russia

Clearly Russia isn’t happy about Finland and Sweden joining Nato.

But Putin said this dramatic step represents “no direct threat” to Russia, and his latest comments contained some important nuance.

Only the expansion of Nato military infrastructure, he said, would provoke a response.

In some ways, the fact that two highly capable military powers have joined the Western alliance changes little on the ground.

But a quick glance at the map shows that Russia’s Kola Peninsula, bristling with naval bases and missile silos, lies just 100 miles (160km) from the border with Finland.

And the home of Russia’s Baltic Fleet, Kaliningrad, which is already sandwiched between Nato members Poland and Lithuania, will soon have another Nato neighbour, Sweden, watching it from across the sea.

The Baltic Sea is about to become a Nato lake.

Putin realises – belatedly perhaps – that there’s nothing he can do to stop the two Scandinavian countries from joining Nato.

But he’s warning the alliance not to go further, by placing missiles or creating permanent bases in either country.

Such moves are unlikely. Sweden and Finland are already well-established Nato partners, with armed forces that are already highly “interoperable” with their Nato counterparts.