Alarms bells sounded this week in Europe after NATO jets scrambled to intercept an unprecedented Russian drone incursion in Poland. Now there is fresh unease on NATO’s eastern flank, as Russia and Belarus kick off major military drills to test the readiness of their armed forces.

Trump had previously urged Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, to release detainees whom the US leader has described as "hostages."

Russia and Belarus are set to stage a massive military exercise in mid-September and with the war in Ukraine still raging, the move has raised concern across Europe. Germany has issued military warnings,

President Donald Trump wants to reopen the U.S. embassy in Belarus in the near future, normalise ties, and revive the economic and trade relationship, John Coale, a Trump representative, said on Thursday.

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Belarus freed 52 political prisoners on Thursday as part of a deal brokered by the United States, which lifted some sanctions on the country’s national airline.

EADaily, September 6th, 2025. The next place that will be offered to the head of the Kiev regime for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin will be Minsk. This was stated by Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexander Dubinsky.

NATO announced plans to beef up the defense of Europe's eastern flank on Friday, two days after Poland shot down drones that had violated its airspace in the first known action of its kind by a member of the Western alliance during Russia's war in Ukraine.