With eye on Russia, U.S. Senate backs Finland and Sweden joining NATO

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. August 2, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate approved on Wednesday Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO, the most significant expansion of the 30-member alliance since the 1990s as it responds to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Senate voted 95 to 1 to support ratification of accession documents, easily surpassing the two-thirds majority of 67 votes required to support ratification of the two countries' accession documents.