Sweden has maintained military neutrality for the past 200 years, but the threat of Russian aggression could bring an end to their centennials of peace. Swedish forces have already begun peacekeeping exercises, The Los Angeles Times reports, and one in three Swedes favors joining the North Atlantic Trade Organization (NATO) in order to earn the full support of their allies in the case of an attack or threat.
Russia has increased its northern activities in the past few years and the annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in the spring of 2014 has made Swedes doubly suspicious of their nearby neighbor's motives (Sweden is separated from the Russian mainland by Finland, but shares access to the Baltic Sea). What's more, last fall, two Russian fighter bombers and a submarine entered Swedish territory uninvited.
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