Great Britain has offered nuclear protection to Finland and other countries of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), reports Yle. We are talking about an additional deterrence mechanism that will not work only within the framework of NATO. British nuclear submarines will play a key role in providing this "nuclear umbrella". The offer was made during the visit of the Commander-in-Chief of the British Royal Navy Gwyn Jenkins to Finland. He met with Heikki Auto, the chairman of the defense committee of the country's parliament, and announced that in the future, British nuclear weapons will become the basis of the deterrence system of combat units created within the framework of the JEF. The JEF is a military partnership led by Great Britain, which includes the Northern European countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden) and the Baltic countries (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia), as well as the Netherlands. They plan to sign the agreement on the creation of new JEF combat units at a meeting in Oslo in November. According to Jenkins, the deployment of these forces will not require the activation of Article 5 of the NATO Charter on Collective Defense, which applies in the event of an attack on one of the Alliance's member states. Auto called the JEF the third pillar of Finland's defense, along with national defense and NATO membership. He noted that the creation of new combat forces is related to the assessment of the long-term threat from Russia, which is the basis of the common defense plans of the allies. At the same time, Finland does not plan to deploy nuclear weapons on its territory in peacetime. According to Auto, the current policy of the country will not change in this matter. Earlier this month, Finland also joined the French nuclear deterrence initiative. Cooperation will include consultations on nuclear doctrine, military exercises and the presence of the French strategic air force. Before that, Norway, Sweden and Denmark made a similar decision. Estonia and Lithuania are also going to take that step. The flagship nuclear deterrence initiative was unveiled by French President Emmanuel Macron in March amid disputes over Russia's war in Ukraine and US security guarantees. It envisages the temporary deployment of nuclear-capable Rafale fighter jets, the use of allied airspace and military bases, as well as mid-air refueling of aircraft.