Operation Weserübung's effects on Sweden became strategically encircled by the German-Soviet pact. Since the Baltic states; Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania; had been forced to accept "limited" Soviet forces on their soil, in the autumn of 1939, they were de facto more or less in a state of occupation. For Sweden and Finland, this meant that the only possible trade route to nations other than Germany and the Soviet Union, was through Petsamo harbour, in the far north of Finland. This seriously hampered the supply situation in both these nations. It also meant that an invasion of Sweden could be launched from almost any direction. Sweden
Finland–Russia border Finland–Russia border The Finnish–Russian border is the roughly north/south international border between the Republic of Finland (EU member) and the Russian Federation (CIS). Some 1,340 km (833 miles) long, it runs mostly through uninhabited taiga forests and sparsely populated rural areas, not following any particular natural feature or river. It is also part of the external border of both the political and economic union; European Union (EU) and the loose confederation; Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Border crossings are controlled and patrolled by the Finnish Border Guard and Border Guard Service of Russia, who also enforce border zones (0.1–3 km