Russia and Belarus have launched major joint military exercises on Nato's eastern borders, intensifying security concerns days after Poland shot down Russian attack drones that entered its airspace. The drills, named 'Zapad 2025', began on Friday and are scheduled to continue until Tuesday, taking place near the borders of Nato members Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia.
Russian officials described the exercises as 'the final stage of this year’s joint training between the two countries’ armies', with troops practising actions at firing ranges in Belarus, Russia, and the Baltic and Barents Seas. According to Russia's Tass news service, the war games will simulate responses to 'localised aggression' against Russia and Belarus.
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the closure of the border with Belarus, including railway crossings, from Thursday midnight, citing national security. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski stated the border would only reopen when the threat to Polish citizens had passed. Warsaw has deployed 40,000 troops along its borders with Belarus and Russia.
The drills have put Nato's eastern flank on high alert, with Tusk warning that Poland is closer to conflict than at any point since the Second World War. Kierwinski said the exercises were directly aimed at Poland and the European Union, following Tusk's remarks that the drone attack 'was not aimed only at Poland, but at European states as well'.
US President Donald Trump suggested the drone incursion could have been 'a mistake', but Tusk responded on X, stating, 'We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it.' The exercises coincide with talks between Ukrainian and Polish foreign ministers in Kyiv, focusing on shared security and increasing pressure on Moscow.
