This Friday Russia will begin the Zapad-2025 maneuvers, military maneuvers in cooperation with Belarus that will last until September 16. The exercises will have between 13,000 and 16,000 troops Of the two countries and will be carried out in different areas, some in Belarusian territory, near the Suwalki corridor, which is the only land access between Baltic and Poland countries.
The celebration of these maneuvers has not sat well in Polandwho has decided, “referring to national security”, close their borders until Friday, as announced by his prime minister, Donald Tusk. “The aggressive Russian-Bielorruse military exercises Zapad begin on Friday; therefore, we will close the borders with Belarus, including railway crossings, from Thursday night until Friday,” he said.
Nor has it liked Lithuaniawhich has decided to establish an aerial exclusion zone while these exercises last, as stressed by the president of the country, Gitanas Nauseda, at a press conference. “We take this period of greatest risk and threat very seriously. It affects both Lithuania and the region. Lithuania has already adopted measures. We have deployed more troops to Lithuania,” he said.
“We have also deployed more troops near our border. We have also established an aerial exclusion zone that will include Lithuania, the Vilna district and even further,” added Nauseda, whose southwest of the country shares 273 kilometers of border with the Russian enclave of Kalinningrad.
However, Kremlin He has denied that these maneuvers are directed against third countries And he pointed out that it is a “continuation of military cooperation” between two allies, such as Russia and Belarus. “They are not directed against anyone. This is the continuation of military cooperation and the improvement of the interaction between two strategic allies,” said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
This exercise will occur just a few days after the incursion of in the airspace of Poland and its consequent demolition by Poland, after the incident. In fact, the Polish came to qualify the event of an “unprecedented violation” that leaves a situation “closer to an open conflict than never from World War II.”
