Russia and Belarus have initiated large-scale military drills, known as Zapad 2025, which will run from September 12 to September 15.
The drills have raised concerns across NATO’s eastern flank, particularly in Poland, which recently accused Moscow of deliberately violating its airspace with an unprecedented number of drones.
This development has sent shivers through Europe and heightened tensions between Russia and the West.
The exercises aim to improve the skills of commanders and staff, as well as the level of cooperation and field training of regional and coalition groupings of troops, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defence.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized that the drills, including those near the Polish border, “are not aimed against any other country”.
However, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the coming period as “critical days”, warning that his country was closer to “open conflict” than at any time since World War II.
Poland has shut its last open border crossings with Belarus, with state media in Minsk showing guards laying barbed wire along the frontier.
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski explained that this decision is a response to the “very specific aggressive military exercises against Poland that are starting in Belarus”.
He added, “we are doing this for the safety of our citizens. Russia has been behaving aggressively towards Poland in recent days and for many years… towards the entire civilised world”.
Neighbouring Lithuania and Latvia, also NATO members, have stepped up security and announced partial airspace closures.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed his Polish counterpart Radosław Sikorski in Kyiv before talks on shared security, stating, “against the backdrop of Russia’s escalation of terror against Ukraine and provocations against Poland, we stand firmly together”.
The Zapad exercises are normally held every four years. The last iteration, in 2021, mobilized some 200,000 Russian troops shortly before Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This year’s version is expected to be smaller, as much of Russia’s military remains committed to the battlefield. Belarus initially announced 13,000 troops would join, later halving that figure.
Polish officials believe the drills may simulate an attack on the Suwalki corridor, a narrow stretch of NATO territory linking Poland and Lithuania between Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave.
Military planners see the corridor as one of the alliance’s most vulnerable points. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko dismissed those concerns as “utter nonsense”, while officials in Minsk earlier claimed the exercises were shifted away from NATO borders “to reduce tensions”.
France has summoned the Russian ambassador over the drone incursion into Poland’s airspace, which French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot described as a deliberate strategy.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will deploy three Rafale fighter jets to help Poland protect its airspace after the drone incursions.
Russia and Belarus have initiated large-scale military exercises known as Zapad 2025, which will run from September 12 to September 15.
These drills have raised concerns across NATO’s eastern flank, particularly in Poland, which recently accused Moscow of deliberately violating its airspace with an unprecedented number of drones.
However, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the coming period as “critical days,” warning that his country was closer to “open conflict” than at any time since World War II.
Poland has shut its last open border crossings with Belarus, with state media in Minsk showing guards laying barbed wire along the frontier.
Neighbouring Lithuania and Latvia, also NATO members, have stepped up security and announced partial airspace closures.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed his Polish counterpart Radosław Sikorski in Kyiv before talks on shared security, stating, “against the backdrop of Russia’s escalation of terror against Ukraine and provocations against Poland, we stand firmly together.”
The Zapad exercises are normally held every four years, with the last iteration in 2021 mobilizing some 200,000 Russian troops shortly before Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This year’s version is expected to be smaller, as much of Russia’s military remains committed to the battlefield.
Polish officials believe the drills may simulate an attack on the Suwalki corridor, a narrow stretch of NATO territory linking Poland and Lithuania between Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave.
In response to the escalating tensions, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Moscow’s intentions went beyond its war in Ukraine, stating, “the meaning of such actions by Russia is definitely not defensive and is directed precisely against not only Ukraine”.
