Finns head into NATO welcoming sense of support

Finnish and Nato flags flutter at the courtyard of the Foreign Ministry, ahead of Finland's accession to NATO, in Helsinki, Finland, April 4, 2023. Lehtikuva/Antti Hamalainen via REUTERS

VIROLAHTI, Finland (Reuters) - Finns living close to the country's long border to Russia as well as in the capital Helsinki welcomed Finland's new NATO membership on Tuesday, and the sense of having a larger alliance behind them after decades of military non-alignment.

Finland became NATO's 31st member in a flag-raising ceremony at the alliance's Brussels headquarters attended by Finnish President Sauli Niinisto just over a year after Russian troops rolled into Ukraine.