Zapad-25 is underway.

Russia has held such military exercises regularly since 1999, but this is the first since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

It is expected to last along NATO's eastern flank until September 16. Mainly in Belarus, which borders NATO countries Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, but also in the Baltic Sea, the Barents Sea and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

Near the border

The lion's share of the exercise will take place around the city of Barysaw, just over seventy kilometers northeast of Minsk, according to Defense News. But smaller units will also be located near the border with Poland and Lithuania, the site writes, citing a previous statement from Belarus Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin.

Exactly how many soldiers are participating is not known.

The figure of 13,000 soldiers has been communicated from Belarus, which was later reduced to about half. At the same time, analysts have warned that the actual number could be significantly higher than that, writes Daily Mail.

40,000 Polish soldiers

Poland and the Baltic countries are holding their breath ahead of the exercise.

The situation is tense, not least after the Russian drone violations of Polish airspace earlier this week.

Tens of thousands of Polish soldiers have now been deployed.

"In the coming days, we will have about 40,000 soldiers at the border," Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk told Polsat News television channel late on Wednesday.

Poland has previously announced that it will restrict air traffic in eastern Poland until December in response to the drones. Latvia is doing the same along the border with Belarus and Russia.

Means"west"

But even before the drone incidents, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the planned Zapad-25 exercises “very aggressive,” and announced that Poland closes border with Belarus Thursday night.

Zapad, which means “west,” is on paper a defensive exercise. It is not directed at any other country, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"It's about continued military cooperation between two strategic allies," he said on Thursday, according to Reuters.