UK and France to lead Poland drills on possible Ukraine force deployment

Britain and France will lead a European exercise in Poland to rehearse deploying a multinational force to Ukraine if a peace deal is reached. The plans are intended to reassure Ukraine and support the rebuilding of its armed forces, but Russia opposes foreign troops being stationed there and has threatened to treat them as legitimate targets.

Exercise Koalicja runs from 9 to 22 November, with about 2,800 personnel from 12 countries practising how to move, protect and supply the force, and how to coordinate its command. The UK is sending 300 troops and two RAF Typhoons; Turkey is set to lead a maritime mission aimed eventually at clearing Black Sea mines. The proposed force’s final size, role and rules for responding to attacks remain unsettled, and any deployment depends on a halt to fighting and each country’s political decisions.