OREANDA-NEWS  The countries of the North Atlantic Alliance have promised to respond to Russia's Zapad-2025 military exercises, which Moscow is conducting jointly with Belarus near the border with NATO countries Poland and Lithuania. This is reported by Politico.

According to the newspaper, Russia's neighbors are preparing for tense days from September 12 to 16, as Moscow will allegedly work out possible clashes with NATO forces.

"We must take the exercises near the borders of NATO and the EU seriously; both neighboring countries and NATO itself treat them with the utmost seriousness. Lithuania and our allies are ready, united and will closely monitor developments, ready to respond if necessary," said Lithuanian Deputy Defense Minister Tomas Godlauskas.

Earlier it became known that in Ukraine, as part of NATO's efforts to prepare for a possible ceasefire, a Multinational force headquarters began to be formed under the command of a British officer. According to reports, France will manage the headquarters.