Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak. (Photo: Reuters)

Lying between Belarus and Russia, the Suwalki Gap is of strategic importance because its takeover by another country would isolate the northern Poland from the rest of NATO.

Parts of these drills were exercises that were formulated based on the Polish armed forces’ experience and observation of the battlefield in Ukraine, said Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak.

Poland has been beefing up its armed forces in response to Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and plans to raise defence spending to 3% of gross domestic product (GDP).