By Carrington Walker

Copyright dailyrecord

NATO is braced for more Russian drone incursions as Putin and Belarus prepare to carry out a joint operation testing their readiness for the outbreak of a nuclear war, days after launching kamikaze drones into NATO airspace . Just two days before the Zapad-2025 mission, which will run from September 12 to 16, Russian drones, the kind which have bombarded Ukrainian cities in their hundreds each night for months, were picked up by radars heading into Polish airspace — a significant escalation by Moscow . Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, confirmed the NATO nation had recorded 19 drone incursions , some of which approached four airports including Warsaw’s main hub, Chopin, before scrambled jets downed some of the projectiles. Kremlin officials denied a targeted attack, adding, “No objects on Polish territory were planned to be targeted. The maximum range of UAVs used in the strike (on Ukraine) does not exceed 700km.” Zapad-2025 is expected to feature live firing drills of nuclear weapon-tipped medium-range ballistic missiles, which could reach the UK in a wartime scenario. Belarus has housed Russian nuclear weapons since 2023, and will now see 13,000 troops take part in simulations depicting how to attack and defend against nuclear weapons across the north-western region of the country and Russian Kaliningrad. The Kremlin has stated that smaller contingents in Moscow, Leningrad, the Arctic, and both the Baltic and Barents Seas will also take part. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed last month that the training would also see the deployment of Russia’s nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which Putin claims can travel at Mach 10, making it difficult to intercept. Oreshnik has been used once in wartime, with conventional warheads, in November 2024, striking an aerospace factory in Dnipro, but still damaging a nearby residential neighbourhood. Ukrainian research group Skhemi, a Radio Liberty-supported investigative reporting project, has reported that satellite images suggest a military base outside the capital city Minsk, is a potential site to store the weapon. In response to the upcoming Zapad exercise, Polish officials have announced 40,000 troops will be deployed to its border with Belarus, up from 10,000. “Poland has been preparing for the Zapad-2025 exercises for many months. The Polish military conducted exercises in which over 30,000 soldiers participated,” politician Cezary Tomczyk told television channel Polsat News on Wednesday. “Polish and NATO soldiers are needed to adequately respond to Zapad-2025. This is where the war in Ukraine began. “Therefore, the Polish military has been preparing for this. In the coming days, we will have approximately 40,000 soldiers on the border.” Ukraine has offered to help Poland enhance its warning system as the European Union adds to the condemnation of Russia violating NATO airspace. “A serious escalation of Russia’s actions, an aggressive and reckless act that threatens the security of EU citizens, regional stability, and international peace,” EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas stated on behalf of the 27 member states.