Belarus masses tanks and drones near NATO border presenting preparations for an attack

Belarus has deployed tanks, artillery and drone units close to the Suwałki Gap in military exercises focused on defending its borders and countering simulated sabotage teams, highlighting the strategic sensitivity of NATO’s land link to the Baltic states.

This echoes the Kremlin’s build-up of troops, which was seen at the start of 2022 prior to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February of that year.

The four-day drills are taking place in the Brest and Grodno regions, close to the borders with Poland and Lithuania and within striking distance of the roughly 40-mile-wide corridor linking the Baltic states with the rest of the alliance.

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The Suwałki Gap lies between Russia’s heavily militarised Kaliningrad exclave and Belarus, Moscow’s closest military ally in the region. Its geography has made it a longstanding focus of NATO contingency planning because a conflict could threaten land access to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Belarusian state television showed columns of armoured vehicles moving into position as mechanised and tank units conducted exercises involving simulated enemy reconnaissance and sabotage groups. The drills also included artillery, concealed firing positions, FPV drones and mobile teams designed to counter unmanned aircraft.

General Pavel Muraveiko, chief of the Belarusian General Staff, said the exercises were intended to improve battlefield decision-making and the mobility of command structures.

“We are deliberately placing emphasis on training headquarters staff, because today a great deal depends on decision-making [and] on how quickly officials work,” he said.

This is NATO’s choke point — the Suwałki Gap.
Russia’s joint military drills with Belarus and drones flying into Poland aren’t careless accidents, they’re deliberate provocations.

This is as close to WW3 as we’ve ever been.

Remember when Russia swore it wouldn’t invade Ukraine? https://t.co/boGaYv1S11 pic.twitter.com/VcDyXEF9ps

— Shaun Pinner (@ShaunPinnerUA) September 13, 2025

The Belarusian authorities have described the manoeuvres as “purely defensive”. Muraveiko dismissed suggestions that the exercises represented preparations for an attack on neighbouring countries as “absolutely groundless”.

The drills coincide with renewed Russian drone activity against western Ukraine, prompting Poland to scramble military aircraft. Poland’s operational command said the measures were “precautionary and aimed at securing and protecting airspace, particularly in areas adjacent to the threatened regions”.

Lithuania is also conducting exercises across 12 municipalities, while a separate multinational drill near the Belarusian border involves about 2,500 troops from eight countries.

Poland is expanding fortified positions, surveillance systems and anti-drone defences along its eastern frontier.

Belarus provided Russian forces with a launchpad for the failed advance towards Kyiv in February 2022, and Russia has since stationed tactical nuclear weapons in the country.