Warsaw Closes Belarus Border as “Zapad-2025” Military Drills Begin
Poland has announced the closure of its border with Belarus due to the Russian-Belarusian military exercises “Zapad 2025” (West 2025), which are causing concern among neighboring NATO countries.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to Reuters and RMF24.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that the country will close its border with Belarus on Thursday night, including railway crossings.
The reason for this is the large-scale Russian-Belarusian military exercises “Zapad 2025”, scheduled to take place near the Polish border. Warsaw considers them a threat in terms of military doctrine and national security.
"Extremely aggressive Russian-Belarusian maneuvers will begin on Friday. The Polish military and allied forces will respond," Tusk said.
The exercises, taking place in Belarus and western Russia, are causing concern among NATO countries — Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia.
According to Minsk, their program includes scenarios involving the possible use of nuclear weapons and new Russian Oreshnik hypersonic missiles. At the same time, NATO is conducting exercises on its side of the border.
"The war in Ukraine began with the Zapad military exercises. First there were the exercises, then the build-up of troops, then the preparations. Many people probably did not believe then that the exercises would end differently... We need to be sensitive to such actions. Poland is monitoring the situation and is on full alert," Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said last week.
Tensions between Poland and Belarus, which escalated after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have reached a new level. Most border crossings have already been closed, and only two are currently operating.
Additional strain was added by reports in the Belarusian media about the arrest of a Polish citizen on suspicion of espionage related to the Zapad exercises.
"We must be prepared for possible provocations, sabotage, and potential aggression that may be related to the Zapad exercises on the part of the Russian Federation and Belarus. None of our exercises have ever ended in an act of aggression, but such situations have occurred during Zapad. Therefore, we are guided by deep mistrust," emphasized General Wiesław Kukula, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces.
As The Gaze reported earlier, Lithuania will reinforce security along its borders and deploy additional personnel as Russia and Belarus prepare to stage their joint Zapad military exercises in September.