NATO state shuts border with Russian ally
Poland will close its border with Belarus later this week as Minsk prepares to hold joint military exercises with Moscow, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on Tuesday.
The Zapad-2025 military drills, scheduled for September 12-16, is part of regular strategic exercises held roughly every four years by Russia and Belarus. Tusk described the maneuvers as “very aggressive” and staged “very close to the Polish border.”
“The response includes maneuvers on our side, by the Polish military and allied forces,” Tusk said during a government meeting. The border closure will take effect Thursday night, he added.
Poland last week launched its Iron Defender-25 exercise with 30,000 troops. Neighboring Lithuania began its Thunder Strike national defense drill on Tuesday. Both countries are also participating with eight other NATO allies in the military bloc’s Tarassis 25 exercise.
Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin last month criticized Warsaw for citing the exercise as a pretext for mobilizing the 30,000 Polish troops.
“This is a serious group, according to our estimates. We will be monitoring it and react accordingly,” Khrenin said. “Should it show any sign of aggression toward Belarus, we’ll find means to respond.”
Minsk has said the Russian-Belarusian drills this year will involve up to 13,000 troops and pledged transparency for international observers.
Khrenin also told media that Russian and Belarusian forces would train in the deployment of the Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missiles, unveiled last year during what Moscow described as a “test strike” on a Ukrainian military plant. The weapon was developed after the US pulled out of a bilateral treaty with Russia in 2019, which banned both nations from creating land-based missiles of that range.
Moscow has accused NATO of fueling tensions for decades through large-scale exercises, expanded deployments in Eastern Europe and pledges to eventually admit Ukraine into the alliance – actions Russia says threaten its security.
