Both countries also border Ukraine, where the full-scale Russian invasion war is soon entering its third year. In the first wave of invasion, Russian forces also came from Belarus territory.
The military exercise is called Zapad (West) and will gather 13,000 soldiers, according to Valeryj Revenko from Belarus' defense department. He states that representatives from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) will be invited to attend the exercise.
Belarus is also opening up for mutual inspections with neighboring Poland, where the two countries would get the right to inspect areas eight miles into each other's country. NATO country Poland has not responded to the proposal.
Belarus has been ruled for over 30 years by dictator Aleksandr Lukasjenko, who in turn is dependent on support from Moscow.
