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Poland to close border with Belarus amid Zapad 2025 exercise — PM

The Zapad 2025 exercise will be held on September 12-16 on the territory of Belarus

© AP Photo/ Czarek Sokolowski

MOSCOW, September 9. /TASS/. Poland has decided to close crossings on the border with Belarus amid the Zapad 2025 exercise on the night of September 11-12, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced ahead of a cabinet meeting.

"Taking state security issues into account, we will close the border with Belarus, including the rail border crossing point, on Thursday night over the Zapad 2025 maneuvers," Tusk said in a statement on TVP Info.

On September 5, Tusk warned that Warsaw is getting ready to take "special measures" against Belarus in the event of provocations during the joint exercise.

The Zapad 2025 exercise will be held on September 12-16 on the territory of Belarus. The drills will be centered around the use of military force for ensuring security of the Union State of Russia and Belarus. Russian and Belarusian servicemen plan to practice various scenarios, including repelling air strikes and anti-sabotage warfare. Participants in the Zapad-2025 exercises will also work on planning the use of nuclear weapons and the Oreshnik missile.

In response, Poland is holding the Iron Defender-25 joint military exercise with NATO, with some 34,000 troops and 600 units of military hardware taking part.

Out of six car crossings to Belarus, Poland has shut four.

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