Poland to Completely Close Border with Belarus Amid Drills

Poland is completely closing its border with Belarus, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced. The ministry noted that this is due to the joint Russian-Belarusian "Zapad-2025" military exercises, which will take place from September 12 to 16.

The head of the Polish government, Donald Tusk, had announced this decision on September 9, stating that the border would be closed from midnight on September 11.

"Zapad-2025" are joint exercises of Russia and Belarus, which will be held in the western part of Belarus. They are expected to involve about 20,000 servicemen. The exercises will include simulations of the use of nuclear weapons, testing of the hypersonic "Oreshnik" missile system, as well as possible attack scenarios. Poland is particularly concerned about the "Suwałki Gap," a 70-km stretch on the Polish-Lithuanian border, which is between the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus, and is considered a vulnerable point for NATO.

It is recalled that a significant part of the Polish-Belarusian border has been closed since 2021 due to the migration crisis organized by Belarus.

The latest closure concerns the sections of the border where traffic is still being carried out. The Polish side had previously announced that the borders would be closed only for the duration of the military exercises. However, that approach was in place until September 10, when, according to various data, more than ten Russian drones invaded Polish territory and were destroyed. Some experts suggest that against the backdrop of these developments, Poland will pay more attention to the protection of its borders with Belarus and may reconsider previously adopted decisions.