On Tuesday, Finland becomes a member of NATO. NATO is a military alliance. 31 countries are in NATO. If someone attacks one member of NATO, it is an attack on all.

When Russia attacks Ukraine in February 2022, Finland does not feel safe. Finland is Russia’s neighbor. Finland worries that Russia can attack it, too. When Finland joins NATO, NATO’s border with Russia doubles. Now, Finland wants Sweden to join NATO, too. Sweden is a good neighbor of Finland.

Russia’s reaction is not good. Russian officials say that they will bring more soldiers to the country’s northwestern border. It can also make the war in Ukraine worse.

Difficult words: military alliance (a group of countries who fight together in a war), double (to become twice as much or many), border (the line between two countries).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.