Coalition of the Willing to rehearse Ukraine peacekeeping in Poland in November
Military exercises of the "Coalition of the Willing" will take place in Poland in November, rehearsing the deployment of European troops in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire or peace deal with Russia. British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting announced the drills after his first meeting with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon on 15 October. At least 1,500 personnel from the UK, France and Germany will take part, alongside Polish forces.
Key points
- "Coalition of the Willing" exercises scheduled in Poland for November
- At least 1,500 personnel from the UK, France and Germany to take part, plus Polish armed forces
- Drills will rehearse troop movements and logistics, including food and fuel supply, for a multinational peacekeeping operation
- Wes Streeting announced the exercises after his first meeting with Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon on 15 October
- A senior Polish official said the drills will show European unity against the Russian threat
- The exercises were agreed at a July summit in Paris and announced by Polish PM Donald Tusk
- They are described as the first of their kind aimed at preparing for a post-war European troop presence in Ukraine
Why it matters
The drills are the first explicitly designed to rehearse a post-war European troop presence in Ukraine, moving the coalition from political declarations to operational planning. That matters because security guarantees for Ukraine after any ceasefire depend on whether European governments can actually move and sustain forces on Ukrainian soil — and these exercises are the first test of that capability. They also come against a backdrop of political strain on the coalition itself, with shrinking proposed force sizes and the departure of at least one member.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian outlets, all reporting the same international story, frame the drills as a concrete step toward Ukraine's security guarantees rather than as routine NATO activity. Headlines stress the multinational scale — "1,500," "thousands," four European countries — and Poland's role as host, presenting the exercises as evidence that European partners are operationalising their commitments to Ukraine.
Where reporting differs
Sources give different figures for the size of the exercise. Reporting citing The Times puts the number at "at least 1,500" UK, French and German personnel plus Polish forces, while another strand and Streeting's own statement describe "thousands of servicemembers" from the four countries. There is also wider disagreement over the size of any eventual post-war contingent: the UK prime minister at the time of the January declaration said Western numbers would be "over 10,000"; other reports cite up to 15,000 from the UK and France combined; and The Times wrote that Britain initially proposed a 30,000-strong contingent before scaling back over European risk concerns.
Background
The "Coalition of the Willing" (also called the "Coalition of the Resolute") was formed in March of the previous year to protect and guarantee peace in Ukraine, with one proposed post-war guarantee being a military contingent on Ukrainian territory. In January, the UK prime minister, the French president and the Ukrainian president signed a declaration of intent to deploy troops to Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement. Bulgaria announced its withdrawal from the coalition on 14 July. The exercises were agreed at a July summit in Paris and announced by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.