POLAND has deployed 40,000 troops to its eastern front as Vladimir Putin launches his WW3 drills in Belarus.
Barbed wire and metal barricades were seen at Polish border crossings with the former Soviet state, as authorities announced “all checkpoints” would be shut from midnight today.
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The Zapad drills – meaning “West” in Russian – take place every four years and entail chilling mock military exercises, which Polish PM Donald Tusk has called “very aggressive” and “offensive”.
Polish Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk said: “Poland has been preparing for the Zapad-2025 manoeuvres for many months.
“The Polish Army has conducted exercises in which over 30,000 Polish soldiers, as well as soldiers of the NATO alliance, took part in order to adequately respond.
“Let’s remember that Zapad-2025 is an offensive exercise.”
In 2017, the drills involved creating fictional scenarios, which saw Russia capture Baltic states, bomb Germany and invade neutral countries.
Russia insisted it was purely rehearsing a defence strategy, but Nato officials warned the exercises were a “serious preparation for war”.
And in 2021, the drills led to Belarus’s rearmament, with weapons later deployed in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a powerful display of solidarity, several Nato members, including the UK, have sent reinforcements to Poland, including troops, artillery, and air defence systems.
The UK already has around 300 troops in Poland as part of a “regular air policing mission” – and Defence Secretary John Healey vowed to “do what we can” to make that more robust.
That could mean increasing the number of boots on the ground in the eastern European nation.
The border closures have sparked outrage in Russia as Putin fumed they would cause “serious harm” to the transit of goods.
Accusing Tusk of engaging in “confrontational steps” and “further escalating tensions” he urged the PM to “consider the consequences of such destructive steps – and reconsider the decision as soon as possible”.
It comes as 19 Russian drones invaded Polish airspace on Wednesday night – forcing Warsaw to shoot them down and trigger Nato Article 4, one below the threshold of war.
It marked the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 that Nato has directly engaged with Vlad’s forces – pushing Europe inches closer to an all-out war.
Tusk warned Putin: “Anyone who decides in any way to attack Poland, Polish territory or Polish airspace, will always have to reckon with an adequate reaction.”
How Putin has awakened sleeping giant Poland armed to teeth with Europe’s biggest army after ‘deliberate’ drone invasion
By Nicole Cherruault
POLAND is building Europe’s mightiest military in a direct challenge to Vladimir Putin as the country readies itself to fight.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk today vowed to modernise the country’s already $35 billion-strong military after Russia’s “deliberate” drone invasion earlier this week.
In an address to troops at an air base in the central city of Lask, he said Poland is due to receive its first F-35 fighter jets from the US next year.
It will be the first delivery of the 32 aircrafts expected by 2030 as the country continues to beef up its defence in the face of Russian threats.
Tusk said: “We will do everything to ensure that our allied obligations, which are so important from our point of view today, are fulfilled by our allies.”
It comes as Nato vowed to defend “every inch” of allied land after Kremlin drones invaded Polish airspace overnight – forcing Warsaw to shoot them down and trigger Nato Article 4, one below the threshold of war.
The Polish site the drones are thought to have been targeting is providing military supplies to Ukraine, German newspaper Die Welt reported.
Citing a high-ranking Nato officer the paper said: “Based on current information, we assume that the drones most likely intentionally entered Nato airspace.”
According to Zelensky, the swooping devices were a “test” by Russia to see how Nato allies would respond.
Answering calls from Poland and Ukraine, the UK yesterday vowed it would step up to meet Putin’s challenge and Nato vowed to defend “every inch” of allied land.
Healey condemned Russia’s “reckless, dangerous and unprecedented” escalation after meeting with E5 defence officials from Germany, France and Italy – with Poland’s defence minister diverted by the crisis.
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He said: “Following our discussions today, I’ve asked our UK Armed Forces to look at options to bolster Nato’s air defence over Poland.”
Sir Keir Starmer condemned Russia’s “egregious and unprecedented violation” of Nato airspace and slammed it as proof of Putin’s “blatant disregard for peace”.
He said he had spoken to Polish PM Donald Tusk to show Britain’s support, adding: “My sincere thanks go to the NATO and Polish forces who rapidly responded to protect the Alliance.”
Poland’s Prime Minster Donald Tusk said 19 Russian drones sailed across the border amid an onslaught against western Ukraine, taking his country to the “closest to conflict since WW2”.
He said four were shot down by Nato fighter jets – understood to be from Poland, Italy, the Netherland the US – and officials later said seven had been found on the ground.
Kremlin spokespeople have denied there is any evidence the drones were Russian, and even outrageously implied they had been launched by Kyiv.
Calling for action from allies, Zelensky said it sets an “extremely dangerous precedent for Europe”.
“A strong response is needed and it can only be a joint response by all partners: Ukraine, Poland, all Europeans, the United States,” he said.
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