Poland сloses border with Belarus as Russian-Belarusian Zapad drills begin
All border crossings between Poland and Belarus were closed overnight on Sept. 12, ahead of the start of joint Russian-Belarusian military exercises, Polish news outlet Onet reported.
Traffic across the border was suspended in both directions, including cars and cargo trains.
The Zapad-2025 (meaning "west" in Russian) drills, which begin on Sept. 12 in Belarus and western Russia, have heightened concerns among NATO's eastern member states, such as Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia.
Warsaw said it is deploying 40,000 troops along its borders with Belarus and the Russian Kaliningrad exclave as the drills take off.
Poland has previously closed most border crossings with Belarus, leaving only two in operation.
Speaking at a midnight briefing near the Belarusian border, Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said that the drills were directly aimed at Poland and the European Union. He also referred to the recent Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace.
Russia breached Polish airspace on an unprecedented scale overnight on Sept. 10, prompting Poland's Air Force to down Russian drones for the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Nineteen Russian drones were recorded crossing into Poland, in what Polish officials describe as a "deliberately targeted" strike and provocation.
In response to Russia's drone incursion, Poland activated NATO's Article 4, which allows member states to request consultations when they believe their security is under threat.
According to Kierwinski, the decision to close the borders "should be assessed in terms of ensuring security."
The border closure was announced on Sept. 9, a few days before the Russian drone incursion.
Western officials say the exercises, though presented as defensive, have long strained Minsk’s relations with its neighbors and in 2021 masked preparations for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Zapad drills, staged every four years, have been watched warily in Europe for more than a decade.
