Poland is deploying around 40,000 troops along its borders with Belarus and Russia amid heightened tensions following a large-scale drone incursion into the country, TVP reported, quoted by Focus.
The increase in military presence is expected, given that Russian and Belarusian forces will begin a series of military exercises on Friday, with some of the war games taking place near the Polish border. The closely watched maneuvers, as well as NATO's response, will come under even greater scrutiny in light of Wednesday's events, when Polish and Dutch military aircraft shot down Russian drones.
The periodic joint Russian-Belarusian exercises, called "Zapad 2025", are expected to involve tens of thousands of troops, prompting Poland's decision to deploy "around 40,000" of its troops.
"Poland prepares for "Zapad 2025" maneuvers for many months“, Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk told Polsat News television.
“The Polish army conducted exercises involving over 30,000 Polish soldiers, as well as soldiers from the [NATO] alliance, in order to be able to respond adequately“, he said. “Let us not forget that “West 2025“ is an offensive exercise.“