Poland’s Tusk says it’s closing Belarus border over Russian-Belarusian ‘Zapad’ military exercises

WARSAW – Poland is closing its border with Belarus on Sept 11 at midnight local time as a result of the Zapad military exercises taking place in Belarus, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sept 9, amid escalating tensions between Minsk and Warsaw.

The scheduled “Zapad-2025 (West-2025)” drills, to be held in western Russia and Belarus, have raised security concerns in neighbouring Nato member states Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

“On Friday (Sept 12), Russian-Belarusian manoeuvres, very aggressive from a military doctrine perspective, begin in Belarus, very close to the Polish border,” Mr Tusk told a government meeting.

“Therefore, for national security reasons, we will close the border with Belarus, including railway crossings, in connection with the Zapad manoeuvres on Thursday (Sept 11) at midnight.”

Already strained relations between Poland and Belarus have hit new lows since Minsk’s ally Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Poland has already closed most of its border crossings with Belarus, with only two still operating.

On Sept 4, the Belarusian media reported that a Polish national had been arrested in Belarus on suspicion of espionage for having documents related to the Zapad exercises.

The Zapad-2025 exercises will include drills on the possible use of nuclear weapons and the Russian-made, intermediate-range hypersonic Oreshnik missile, according to the Belarus defence minister.

Nato will hold drills on its side of the border at the same time.

The Belarusian and Russian embassies in Warsaw did not immediately respond to e-mailed requests for comment. REUTERS