The Latest Breaking News from Sweden

Sweden’s prime minister has told her country's parliament that seeking NATO membership represents “a historic change in our country’s security policy line.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday said Russia was closely following Finland and Sweden's bids to join the U.S.-led NATO military alliance, and was convinced that their accession would in no way strengthen Europe's security architecture.

Its military bogged down in a grinding conflict in eastern Ukraine, Russia lost diplomatic ground over the weekend as two more European nations moved closer to joining NATO. Finland announced Sunday that it was seeking to join the alliance, saying Russia's invasion of Ukraine nearly three months ago had changed…

Sweden will formally apply for NATO membership in the next few days, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Monday, but its accession process, and that of Finland, hit a snag when NATO member Turkey's president said he would not approve either bid.

President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that there was no threat to Russia if Sweden and Finland joined NATO but cautioned that Moscow would respond if the U.S.-led alliance bolstered military infrastructure in the new Nordic members.

Moscow, which shares an 800 mile border with Finland, has said it would be a mistake for Helsinki to join the 30-strong transatlantic alliance and that it would harm bilateral ties

Sweden and Finland joining NATO would increase the security of the Baltic region, Estonian Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets said.

Ukraine's military said on Tuesday it was working to evacuate all remaining troops from their last stronghold in the besieged port of Mariupol, ceding control of the city to Russia after months of bombardment. The evacuation likely marked the end of the longest and bloodiest battle of the Ukraine war…

Russia's military is bogged down in a grinding conflict in eastern Ukraine