Poland will close its borders with Belarus, including railway crossings, on September 11, amid the Zapad 2025 military exercises. This was announced by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, according to RMF24 radio.

“We will close the border with Belarus, including railway crossings, at midnight from Thursday to Friday,” Tusk said, linking the decision to the ongoing Belarusian-Russian strategic exercises “Zapad-2025.”

The Zapad 2025 exercises will take place from September 12 to 16 in two stages. As previously stated by Belarusian Security Council Secretary Alexander Volfovich, the exercises are purely defensive in nature. Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin, in turn, noted that NATO leaders are trying to use “West-2025” as an excuse to conduct their own exercises. Thus, the Polish Ministry of Defense previously announced military maneuvers with NATO participation in response to “Zapad-2025.”