Britain pledges military help to Sweden, Finland if attacked

HELSINKI (AP) — Britain has pledged to come to the aid of Sweden and Finland, including with military support, if the two Nordic nations came under attack under security deals Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed with his Swedish counterpart in Stockholm and the Finnish president in Helsinki. Sweden and Finland are pondering whether to abandon their historic neutrality and join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Sweden’s eastern neighbor Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) land border with Russia. Johnson said Wednesday that “whether it’s in the event of a disaster or a military attack, what we’re saying today is that upon request from the other party, we would come to the other party’s assistance.”