Poland Prepares to Seal Eastern Border with Belarus Before Zapad-2025 Military Maneuvers

Poland will seal its eastern border with Belarus on Thursday, just before the joint military exercises conducted by Russia and Belarus later in the week, as stated by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Tuesday.

The forthcoming drills, a condensed version of their regular Zapad exercises, are scheduled from this Friday to next Monday, marking the first such maneuvers since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

«For the sake of national security, we will be closing the border with Belarus, which includes railway crossings, starting at midnight on Thursday due to the Zapad exercises,» Tusk remarked during a government meeting, as reported by Reuters.

In 2021, Poland had already restricted access across most of its border with Belarus, following accusations against Minsk of facilitating a surge of migrants and refugees into Poland. Currently, only two crossing points remain operational.

Tusk described Zapad-2025 as “extremely aggressive,” adding that the military drills will occur in close proximity to the Polish border. Senior officials from Ukraine have also expressed concerns that Russia might exploit these exercises as a pretext for a renewed assault from Belarus.

Belarusian officials indicated that the upcoming drills would be conducted on a smaller scale and further within Belarusian territory as a sign of de-escalation. They have also extended invitations to foreign observers, including representatives from nine NATO countries, to oversee the exercises for increased «openness and transparency.»

Approximately 13,000 troops are projected to take part in the exercises, significantly fewer than the approximately 200,000 personnel involved in the previous Zapad drills in 2021, the year before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

Previously, Belarus accused Poland and Lithuania of intensifying their military exercises as a countermeasure to Zapad-2025.

The relationship between Minsk and Warsaw has soured in light of President Alexander Lukashenko’s crackdown on dissent and his support for Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.