Ben Wallace warns Russia that the UK would support Finland and Sweden if they are attacked

British tanks have been pictured in war games action alongside their Nato allies as the UK warned they would come to the aid of Finland and Sweden if they were attacked by Vladimir Putin’s forces.

Challenger 2 tanks and troops from the Queen’s Royal Hussars worked alongside members of the Finnish Armoured Brigade and American, Latvian and Estonian allies in as the military alliance today flexed its muscles in response to Russian aggression.

The war games, dubbed Exercise Arrow, will see Nato troops work alongside Finnish units to improve joint responses and to improve mechanised units’ operational land viability in varied environments.

Service personnel, reservists and conscripts will also be tested on their abilities as the exercise kicked off today and will last until Friday, May 13.

Tens of thousands of Nato and Joint Expeditionary Force troops are expected to be involved in war drills across the continent this summer in the wake of Putin’s bloody invasion in Ukraine.

The developments come as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned it was ‘inconceivable’ that the UK would not ‘support’ the Scandinavian states, which have been threatened by Moscow. 

Finland and its neighbour Sweden have expressed a desire to join the military pact since Putin launched his savage invasion of Ukraine in February. 

Reuters reported this week that Helsinki will formally announce its bid to join on May 12 with Sweden following suit days later. 

Flanking his Finnish counterpart Antti Kaikkonen on a visit to Finland to see UK troops take part in military exercises, Mr Wallace said stressed that alliances between European countries ‘make us safer’.

He told reporters it is ‘entirely for the freedom of Finland to choose’ whether it wants to become a Nato member, and added he is not going to ‘lobby or direct’ what it should do.

Mr Wallace said: ‘Do I think if Finland didn’t join Nato Britain wouldn’t come along to help? No. Britain will always be here in the Nordics, to be part of you, to help you, to support you.

‘It is inconceivable that Britain would not come to the support of Finland, or Sweden, if it was ever attacked, without any big formal agreement. We are European countries who share the same values, who have deep, long histories.

‘A significant number of the British population seem to be descended from Vikings anyhow, so we have that cultural link.

‘I cannot conceive a time when we wouldn’t come to support Finland and Sweden no matter where they were with the Nato debate or where they are with agreements.’

Finland and Sweden have historically avoided NATO membership, despite close alignment with the West, in an effort not to provoke Russia.

Both have been militarily non-aligned since the Second World War. Sweden had  maintained its policy of neutrality – which had begun in the early 19th century – throughout the war wanting to avoid being drawn into a conflict that was engulfing the nearby powers of Germany and the Soviet Union.

Instead, it profited from its neutrality by exporting iron ore to the Nazis and sharing military intelligence with the Allies and training refugee soldiers. 

Meanwhile Finland changed sides in the conflict, first being invaded by Joseph Stalin and assisting the Nazis, before fighting against Hitler’s troops. It was formerly part of the Russian Empire and won independence during the 1917 Russian revolution.

When NATO was formed in 1949 for a Western military alliance, Sweden decided not to join and continue its neutrality, introducing a security policy that secured its non-alignment in peace and neutrality in war. 

In 1994, Stockholm decided to join the NATO programme Partnership for Peace (PfP), aimed to build trust between member states and other European countries, but until now it has not signalled a desire to fully join the alliance.

Finland is also a PfP member but has similarly stated its desire to remain neutral since the war. 

Moscow lawmaker Vladimir Dzhabarov recently warned Finland that a formal application would mean ‘the destruction of the country’, while another Kremlin spokesman Alexander Grushko threatening ‘the most undesirable consequences’. 

But Putin’s invasion has decisively changed public opinion in the Scandinavian countries after Russia began the war with a barrage of rhetoric about stopping Nato expansion. 

Russia taunts Finland by flying a military helicopter INTO its airspace as the Nordic country prepares to join NATO to the Kremlin’s fury 

By Adam Solomons for MailOnline 

A Russian army helicopter violated Finland‘s airspace in an apparent attempt to frighten the country as it readies to join NATO.

The military Mi-17 transport chopper flew 2-3 miles inside the Finnish border after 10.30 this morning (7.30am GMT), according to the country’s Ministry of Defence.

‘The aircraft type is a Mi-17 helicopter and the depth of the suspected violation is about four to five kilometres’, a ministry spokesman told AFP.

Finland has accelerated a bid to join the Western defensive alliance since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, stoking fury in the Kremlin.

Sweden is set to join as another historically neutral new entrant to NATO. 

Public opinion in both countries has swung in favour of joining since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24. 

Putin has promised ‘consequences’ and said he will move Russian nuclear weapons to the nearby Baltic Sea in retaliation.

A Russian lawmaker warned last month Finland would be asking for ‘the destruction of their country’.

Senator Vladimir Dzhabarov said the move is a ‘terrible tragedy’.

Russia previously violated Finnish airspace on April 8, the first time this year.

The news came as a Finnish nuclear provider terminated a contract with Russian state energy firm Rosatom for the delivery of a power plant. 

Fennovoima warned the war in Ukraine ‘has worsened the risks for the project’, which was set to generate around 10 per cent of Finland’s electricity needs.

Moscow forces have flown into Swedish and Danish airspace in recent days, prompting Denmark’s Foreign Minister to summon the Russian Ambassador in Copenhagen.

Jeppe Kofod tweeted on May 1: ‘Another Russian violation of Danish airspace. That is completely unacceptable and extremely worrying in the current situation.’

Experts have warned that Finland and Sweden would likely be subjected to Russian acts of interference as they consider whether to join NATO as a deterrent against aggression from their eastern neighbour.

Hostile acts such as cyberattacks are also considered likely.

A large majority of Finnish MPs and the public are in favour of joining the Atlantic Alliance. 

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto is set to announce his personal stance on the issue on May 12. 

Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Wednesday that should her country apply, alone or together with neighbouring Sweden, she hopes the application process would be completed ‘as fast as possible’.

‘If Finland and Sweden would decide to apply for a NATO membership, the key issue is to keep the ratification process as short as possible’, she said.

Helsinki is holding talks with key members of the alliance to obtain security guarantees during the application period, which could last several months, Marin told a joint press conference with Nordic leaders in Copenhagen.

According to Finnish media reports, the government’s decision could be made in the next few days.

Finland was ruled by Russia for 108 years before declaring independence in 1917.

It fought off a Soviet invasion during World War II before a peace deal saw it cede several border areas to Moscow.

The Nordic nation remained neutral during the Cold War in exchange for Soviet guarantees not to invade.

On the Swedish side, the government and parliament are due to present a security policy review including viewpoints on NATO membership on May 13.

Stockholm is also currently holding consultations with NATO countries, with its foreign minister travelling to the US and Canada this week.

Four Russian fighter jets violated Swedish airspace in early March near Sweden’s strategically-located island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea.

And on Friday, a Russian spy plane also crossed the Swedish border near a naval base in the south of the country.

NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg said Finland and Sweden would be ‘welcomed with open arms’ should they apply.

They could also be given NATO protections in the period between launching their entry bid and having the move ratified by all the alliance’s member states.

Mr Stoltenberg said in Brussels last week: ‘If they decide to apply, Finland and Sweden will be warmly welcomed and I expect the process to go quickly.’

He also described the countries as ‘our closest partners’, adding: ‘They are strong and mature democracies.

‘Their armed forces meet NATO standards and are interoperable with NATO forces.

‘We train together, we exercise together, and we have also worked with Finland and Sweden in many different missions and operations.’