"On Friday, Russian-Belarusian manoeuvres—very aggressive from a military doctrine perspective—begin in Belarus, very close to the Polish border," Tusk said ahead of a Cabinet meeting in Warsaw.
"Therefore, for national security reasons, on Thursday at midnight we will close the border with Belarus, including rail crossings, in connection with the Zapad manoeuvres,” he added.
A key "target” of the drills is the Suwałki Gap, a strategic stretch of land near Russia’s westernmost region of Kaliningrad, according to Tusk.
He confirmed that Polish and allied forces would hold their own exercises on the Polish side of the border.
Tusk has previously described Zapad-2025 as simulating "an attack, not defence," and said NATO would conduct parallel drills in Poland.
The Zapad-2025 (West-2025) war games are scheduled to take place from September 12 to 16 in western Russia and Belarus.
Russia and Belarus have said 13,000 troops will take part, but German and Lithuanian officials estimate closer to 30,000, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Germany’s top military officer, Gen. Carsten Breuer, said last week there were no signs of preparations for an attack on NATO territory, though allied forces remain on alert.
Last week, Warsaw accused Minsk of staging a provocation after the Belarusian KGB security service detained a Polish citizen on espionage charges tied to the drills.
Belarusian Defence Minister Viktar Khrenin said last month the exercises would include planning for the use of nuclear weapons and Oreshnik ballistic missiles.
Relations between Warsaw and Minsk, already strained, worsened after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine has urged European partners to stay vigilant, warning that "the cooperation between the regimes in Moscow and Minsk poses an immediate threat not only to Ukraine, but also to Poland, the Baltic states and all of Europe."
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Source: IAR, PAP