A survey conducted by the Finnish Association of Officers showed a rapid increase in the popularity of the country's accession to NATO.

This is reported by Yle.

The Finnish Officers' Association is a trade union to which almost all Finnish army officers are members. The association regularly polls its members, including NATO membership.

Traditionally, the level of support for the idea of joining the Alliance among officers has been higher than in the country as a whole. In recent months, however, there has been a real turnaround.

The previous poll, conducted in November 2021, showed support for NATO membership among 65 percent of Finnish officers. However, the latest survey showed that 91 percent of the officers already support the idea.

Moreover, a third of the respondents said that their attitude toward NATO had changed over the past year.

"Because of the war in Ukraine, it was expected that support for joining NATO would increase. However, also in previous surveys, the Russian threat was seen as the greatest threat of all. Certainly, officers think more about military action than politics," notes Lt. Col. Wille Vita, chairman of the Officers' Association.

She specified that the officers were confident in the defense capability of the country but they think that NATO would only strengthen it.

As a reminder, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, support for Finland's membership has increased dramatically, and a task force headed by the foreign minister is examining ways to strengthen national security, including possible NATO membership.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that any decision on the country's NATO membership should be taken quickly, and better this spring.

On March 28, Finnish President Sauli Niinosto discussed with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg the "principles and procedures" for admitting new members to the Alliance.