LONDON, November 3. /TASS/. Some 2,800 troops from 11 countries will take part in Coalition of the Willing exercises in Poland on November 9-22, the UK Ministry of Defense said.
The drills will be conducted under the auspices of Multinational Force Ukraine (MNF-U), established under British and French command within the coalition. Belgium, Germany, Spain, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey, Sweden and Estonia will also participate.
The UK will send 300 personnel from the British Army’s 7 Brigade, along with Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets and a Voyager tanker aircraft. "The jets will simulate how they would reassure commercial air travel once Ukraine’s skies reopen," the ministry said.
"The exercise will involve testing command-and-control arrangements for the force, rehearsing the movement of personnel, equipment and supplies and assessing how different components can integrate and operate effectively as one multinational force," the statement said.
"As well as the exercise’s land and air components, Turkish forces will stand up the MNF-U’s maritime element in Istanbul, testing arrangements for maritime mine clearance to allow commercial shipping to safely return to Ukraine’s ports," it added.
"This exercise shows the UK is stepping up, alongside France and our allies, to prepare for the day peace comes to Ukraine. This isn’t a hypothetical plan, it’s a real force, ready to help Ukraine once the fighting stops," UK Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said.
The ministry stressed that MNF-U may deploy to Ukraine only after hostilities end and at the Ukrainian government’s request. It will not carry out "peacekeeping or ceasefire-monitoring duties."
The force is commanded by British Lieutenant General Tom Bateman. Its headquarters will move from Paris to London this year.
US role
France will send 1,500 troops to the exercises, The Guardian reported. Bateman told the newspaper that MNF-U would operate outside NATO. The US is expected to play a minimal role in the mission. According to the newspaper’s sources, the force would not depend on US military technology, including the Starlink satellite communications system.
Bateman said a key objective would be to help with "regenerating and strengthening" Ukraine’s armed forces after the conflict. Western troops are expected to be stationed well away from the front line. Another unnamed source told the newspaper that, if deployed to Ukraine, the multinational force would be authorized to return fire against Russian forces if attacked.
Moscow’s position
The Coalition of the Willing is an informal group of more than 30 countries, mainly European, established in spring 2025 to support Ukraine. Led by the UK and France, it is developing security guarantees for Ukraine, including the deployment of military contingents after the conflict ends.
Moscow opposes the presence of troops from NATO countries in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov previously said that ensuring Ukraine’s security through "foreign military intervention in part of Ukrainian territory" would be unacceptable to Moscow.