On Tuesday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that Poland would reopen its border with Belarus this week, two weeks after it was sealed during Russian-led military exercises.

The border closure was announced on 9 September, ahead of the Zapad-2025 exercises, during which Russian and Belarusian forces simulated war with the West.

‘The end of these manoeuvres reduces, if not eliminates, the various risks associated with the aggressive attitude of our eastern neighbours,’ Tusk said.

‘So, between Wednesday and Thursday at midnight, the border crossings will reopen,’ he announced at a press conference.

‘If necessary, if tensions or the aggressive behaviour of certain neighbours intensify, we will not hesitate to decide to close the border crossings again. But for now, it seems that these direct reasons have disappeared.’

Just ahead of the war games, Poland complained about Russian drones violating its airspace, and other NATO powers warned Moscow against further escalation.

Poland has also recently accused Belarus of encouraging undocumented migrants from outside Europe to cross the border.

However, the closure of rail crossings has also disrupted a major overland trade route bringing Chinese goods into Europe, causing concern in Beijing.

During his visit to Warsaw on 15 September, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was briefed on the reasons for the border closure by his Polish counterpart, Radoslaw Sikorski.