Putin's Week Is Off to a Terrible Start

Sweden has cleared the last hurdle in its bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a move which Russian President Vladimir Putin does not support.

Hungary's parliament on Monday voted to ratify Sweden's bid to join the military alliance, even though Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is widely seen as one of Putin's few allies within NATO. In order to join NATO, a country needs unanimous support from all alliance members, and Hungary was the last holdout to approve Sweden after Turkey ratified the country's request in January.

Putin has been outspoken about his opposition to the expansion of NATO, and cited the possibility of the alliance growing as one of the justifications for his invasion of Ukraine. However, it was the Ukraine war that spurred Finland and Sweden to simultaneously submit letters of application to join NATO in May 2022. Finland became a NATO member in April 2023.

When contacted for comment about Sweden's accession to NATO, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov provided Newsweek with a statement.

"As we have repeatedly said, NATO enlargement in no way contributes to stability and security on the continent," Peskov said.

The vote in Hungary's parliament overwhelmingly sided with Sweden's ratification, with 188 votes for and six against it.

Orbán even publicly supported Sweden's bid. According to the Associated Press, the prime minister told lawmakers before the vote, "Sweden and Hungary's military cooperation and Sweden's NATO accession strengthen Hungary's security."

Monday's vote came after a Friday meeting between Orbán and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, during which they reportedly settled some lingering diplomatic tensions.

"Today is a historic day. The parliaments of all NATO member states have now voted in favor of Swedish accession to NATO," Kristersson wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday morning. "Sweden stands ready to shoulder its responsibility for Euro-Atlantic security."

Putin, meanwhile, continues to face condemnation for his ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which marked its second anniversary on Saturday.

Though Russia's armed forces recently claimed control of the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, Putin's military has not achieved the battleground success many analysts had predicted.

Russia has also suffered a high rate of casualties in Ukraine. According to the latest estimate from the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Russia has lost over 410,000 troops since the beginning of the war.

Newsweek has not been able to independently verify Ukraine's figures, which are higher than many other estimates. The Kremlin rarely releases its own numbers, and when it does, the figures are thought to be undercounted.

Putin himself has not yet publicly commented on Hungary's vote regarding Sweden and NATO. In addition to his statement to Newsweek, Peskov previously warned in July 2022 that Russia's security would be jeopardized if Sweden were to become an alliance member.

"The negative consequences are unambiguous," Peskov said at the time, according to Agence France-Presse.

Update 02/28/24 11:23 a.m. ET: This story has been updated to include comment from Dmitry Peskov, which was obtained after the story was originally published.