Sweden and Finland will together express their wish to join the NATO military alliance in May, tabloid newspapers Iltalehti in Finland and Expressen in Sweden reported on Monday, citing sources close to the matter. Despite tightening cooperation with NATO since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the Nordic countries had both opted to stay out. But Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, which it claims is a “special operation”, has forced Sweden and Finland to examine whether their long-standing military neutrality is still the best means of ensuring national security. According to Iltalehti, the lea…