Finland’s leaders said Thursday they’re in favor of rapidly applying for NATO membership, paving the way for a historic expansion of the alliance that could deal a serious blow to Russia as its military struggles with its war in Ukraine.

The dramatic move by Finland was announced by President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin. It means that Finland is all but certain to join NATO, though a few steps remain before the application process can begin. Neighboring Sweden is expected to decide on joining NATO in coming days.

“NATO membership would strengthen Finland’s security. As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defence alliance,” Niinisto and Marin said in a joint statement.

“Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay,” they said. “We hope that the national steps still needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly within the next few days.”

The Democratic Party’s first major bid to save abortion rights since the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion did more to expose the party’s helplessness in the face of Roe v. Wade’s possible demise than to unleash the kind of generational battle that conservatives mounted to threaten the landmark ruling.

Senate Democratic leaders knew their vote Wednesday to codify the 1973 Supreme Court decision into law would fail. But ahead of a possible court decision abolishing the constitutional right to end a pregnancy, Democrats hope the symbolism of the vote will help them reframe the stakes of November’s midterm elections, setting up a contrast with what they believe is a coming example of conservative extremism. They want to ignite a backlash to such a ruling in order to energize their prospects in a midterm environment that doesn’t look good for their party.

“Every senator will have to vote and every, every American will see how they voted,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, told reporters before the measure went down by a vote of 49-51. “And I believe the Republican Party, the MAGA Republican Party, will suffer the consequences electorally when the American people see that.”

Democrats are using the power they do have, much of which is symbolic, to highlight a critical division in the country, one they believe has the potential to move millions of voters.

Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, told CNN’s “New Day” on Wednesday, for instance, that the goal was to “get the attention of the electorate.”

A US Navy SEAL jumps out of a Romanian helicopter and slides down a rope. He’s one of several American special forces units taking part in a military drill on the Black Sea, just 100 miles from Ukraine, where Russia continues to wage its war.

Their mission? Stop a ship occupied by insurgents that have disrupted trade in the region. To succeed, they are using not just the helicopter but four rigid inflatable boats to board the vessel.

“The helicopter insertion and boat insertion, their synchronization is very important in order for all the teams to get on board the ship at the exact time they should,” a special forces group leader, who cannot be named for security reasons, told CNN.

Working with other nations adds another layer of difficulty but for this Romanian service member all the years of training are paying off. “It’s not the first or the second time we work with [the US],” he said. “We train all the time with the US, it was very simple.”