POLAND has deployed 40,000 troops to its eastern front as Vladimir Putin launches his WW3 drills in Belarus.

Barbed wire and metal barricades were seen at Polish border crossings with the former Soviet state, as authorities announced "all checkpoints" would be shut from midnight today.

The Zapad drills - meaning "West" in Russian - take place every four years and entail chilling mock military exercises, which Polish PM Donald Tusk has called "very aggressive" and "offensive".

Polish Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk said: “Poland has been preparing for the Zapad-2025 manoeuvres for many months.

“The Polish Army has conducted exercises in which over 30,000 Polish soldiers, as well as soldiers of the NATO alliance, took part in order to adequately respond.

“Let's remember

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