Belarus Launches Military Drills Near Polish Border

Belarus, Russia's closest ally, launched military drills near its western border with NATO members Poland and Lithuania from the 15th to the 18th (local time). In a statement on the 15th, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said the exercise is "defensive in nature, aimed at enhancing the military's ability to safeguard the nation's sovereignty and territorial integrity." It added that the drills focus on border defense, responses to sabotage, neutralizing reconnaissance groups, and repelling drones and light aircraft. The exercises are taking place at the Goza training ground in Grodno region, 6 km from the Lithuanian border, and at the Brest and Ruzhany training grounds, 15 km and 60 km from the Polish border respectively, with armored and mechanized units in motion. The number of participants was not disclosed.

The Suwalki Gap between Poland and Lithuania in this area is the only land corridor connecting the three Baltic states with the rest of NATO territory, while also serving as a strategic choke point separating Belarus and Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave. Belarus has previously faced criticism for employing hybrid tactics against Poland and Lithuania using migration issues.

Ukraine remains on high alert over the possibility of Belarus entering the war. Oleh Ivashchenko, head of Ukraine's military intelligence, said in a media interview on the 7th of last month that troops from Russia's 101st Missile Brigade, equipped with the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile system, are deployed in Belarus. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in May that he had detected contacts between Russia and Belarus, and that his country was ready to take preemptive measures against military threats along its northern border.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has denied any intention to join the war. In an interview released in June, he stated, "Belarus poses no military threat to Ukraine," adding that it "would only enter the war if attacked."