Shafaq News – Warsaw / Moscow

Poland deployed 40,000 troops to its eastern frontier on Friday and sealed border crossings with Belarus as Russia and its ally launched Zapad-2025, one of their largest war games in years.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the drills “extremely aggressive,” warning they echo the build-up that preceded Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk said NATO forces are on standby: “This is the scenario from which the war in Ukraine began. We must be ready for it again.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses destroyed 221 Ukrainian drones overnight targeting Russian territory. St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Drozdenko reported that more than 30 drones were eliminated over the region alone.

The Zapad-2025 exercises, running through Tuesday, span western Russia, Belarus, and the Baltic and Barents seas. Moscow said they involve coordinated air, land, and naval maneuvers, while Warsaw accused the Kremlin of staging intimidation on NATO’s doorstep.

Earlier this week, drones breached Polish airspace. Warsaw blamed Moscow; Russia denied responsibility. NATO forces helped intercept several of them, a first for the alliance.

Belarus denounced Poland’s border closure as “unjustified,” while Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused Warsaw of “stoking European tensions.”

The confrontation coincides with new Western backing for Kyiv. Sweden pledged $7.5 billion in military aid, Ukraine inaugurated its largest battery storage plant to shield its grid from missile strikes, and the IMF opened talks on a new wartime funding package through 2026.