Nato leaders have agreed a new wave of enlargement and to pile troops onto their Russian flank in response to its rampage in Ukraine.
Finland and Sweden officially became Nato "invitees" on Wednesday (29 June), putting them on a path to join within a few months.
Eight Nato "battlegroups" of some 1,200 soldiers each, stationed from Estonia to Bulgaria, will be upgraded to "brigades" of some 4,000 troops, Western leaders also agreed at a summit in Madrid.
A Nato rapid-react...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.