"Eastern Sentry is not just a new initiative – it is a clear signal: NATO’s borders are inviolable, and the security of our citizens remains a priority," Poland's General Staff wrote on X.

Amid rising tensions between NATO and Russia, Moscow and Belarus are holding military exercises starting on Friday that include "planning the use of nuclear weapons" and testing ballistic missiles, the state-run Tass news agency reported.

In 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from Belarus included forces that had participated in the Zapad exercises.

They are intended to showcase close defense ties between Moscow and Minsk, as well as Russia’s military might as it fights its 3½-year-old war in neighboring Ukraine.

By Barbara Erling BRANIEWO, Poland (Reuters) -Six kilometres from the Russian border in northern Poland, office administrator Agnieszka Jedruszak is digging a trench. Driven by fear of war with Russia,

Germany is leading a major military exercise that focuses on moving troops and equipment to Lithuania as tensions with Russia on the eastern fringe of NATO simmer.

Nato has deployed 40,000 soldiers to Poland's eastern border as Europe braces itself for major joint military exercises between Russia and Belarus. The shift of troops comes just days after at least 19 Russian drones infiltrated Polish airspace,