{"id":154824,"date":"2025-09-11T12:32:55","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T09:32:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/154824\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"minsk-officials-rush-to-clear-traffic-ahead-of-polish-border-closure","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/154824\/","title":{"rendered":"Minsk officials rush to clear traffic ahead of Polish border closure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

September 11, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Belarusian customs officers have processed about 1,000 Belarus-bound passenger vehicles at the Brest-Terespol border checkpoint in the past 24 hours, the State Customs Committee (SCC) reports.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The checkpoint is expected to close at midnight, following Warsaw\u2019s decision to close the border with Belarus over concerns linked to the upcoming major Russian-Belarusian drill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A total of 1,550 cars and 68 buses were waiting to enter Poland this morning, the Belarusian State Border Committee said, citing data from the electronic queue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only two checkpoints remain open at the Belarusian-Polish border: Brest for passenger traffic and Kaz\u0142ovi\u010dy for cargoes. The Belarusian side said it had deployed additional staff at the crossings to speed up processing ahead of the border closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two days ago, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that Warsaw would close the border with Belarus, including railway crossings, on September 12 in connection with the Belarusian-Russian exercise Zapad-2025, planned for September 12\u201316. He described the military maneuvers in Belarus as \u201caggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwi\u0144ski approved the move yesterday, noting that it should ensure the national security of Poland and protect the external border of the European Union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The closure is temporary and linked to threats posed by the Zapad-2025 exercise, he noted.  Warsaw would reopen the border when officials are fully confident that Belarus does not pose a direct threat to Poland or its citizens, the official stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The already strained relations between Minsk and Warsaw have deteriorated this month after the arrest of Polish Carmelite monk Grzegorz Gawe\u0142 in Lepel, Viciebsk region, reportedly accused of collecting secrets for Polish intelligence about Zapad-2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent days also saw the expulsion of Belarusian diplomats from Czechia, Poland and Moldova, and a spike in tension between Poland and Russia following yesterday\u2019s incursion of military drones into Poland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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