Thousands of European troops will assemble in Poland next week for the Coalition of the Willing’s first major military exercise. The drills will rehearse how a multinational force could deploy to Ukraine after the war with Russia ends.

Britain and France will jointly lead KOALICJA 26.2 from Nov. 9 through Nov. 22. The exercise will bring together 2,800 troops from 11 nations for coordinated activities in Poland, France and Turkey under the coalition’s military arm, the Multinational Force-Ukraine.

American troops will not participate. Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Britain are among the participating countries.

The drills will combine air, land and sea forces to “test how to move, protect and supply a force that would help rebuild Ukraine’s Armed Forces once the fighting ends,” according to a British Ministry of Defence statement.

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Training will prepare troops for possible missions including securing critical infrastructure, training Ukraine’s military, protecting Ukrainian skies and clearing mines from the Black Sea. Those operations would form part of a wider package of security guarantees for Ukraine, according to the French ministry.

British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting called the exercise evidence that Britain, France and their allies are preparing for peace. “This isn’t a hypothetical plan; it’s a real force, ready to help Ukraine once the fighting stops,” Streeting said in the ministry’s release.

The Multinational Force-Ukraine reportedly would not receive a peacekeeping or ceasefire monitoring mandate, nor would it operate under NATO command. The force would enter Ukraine only after a ceasefire and at Kyiv’s request.

Former French Ambassador to Ukraine Gaël Veyssière told Military Times in April that ceasefire monitoring would be separate from the multinational force’s mission. He said the force instead would support the Ukrainian military and its ability to be strengthened.

The drills will test “command-and-control arrangements for the force” and evaluate “how different components can integrate and operate effectively as one multinational force,” according to the British release. The exercise is designed to put multinational coordination through a practical test before any deployment.

Britain is sending 300 personnel, including soldiers from the British Army’s 7th Light Mechanised Brigade, known as the “Desert Rats.” They will rehearse logistical movements associated with deploying and supporting the force.

Warsaw will manage the movement of Multinational Force-Ukraine troops after the war, but Poland will not send its own soldiers into Ukraine. Nearly 2,000 Polish soldiers will participate in the exercise in addition to the foreign forces, the Polish ministry said.

France is sending “hundreds” of troops, including a unit equipped with about 50 “contact drones.” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Jacques de Montgros told lawmakers last month that the unit is the second of its kind after one deployed to Romania.

Turkey will not send troops to Poland, according to the French ministry. Instead, Turkey will establish the force’s maritime element in Istanbul and test arrangements for clearing maritime mines so commercial shipping can safely return to Ukrainian ports.

British Lt. Gen. Tom Bateman, commander of the Multinational Force-Ukraine, said the drills will demonstrate that the force is capable and ready to deploy. He described the planned force as a serious commitment by Coalition of the Willing nations to Ukraine’s long term stability and security.

The announcements do not specify the final size of any force deployed to Ukraine. Britain and France said earlier this year that each country was prepared to contribute roughly 5,000 troops.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies assessed last year that even a minimal “tripwire” presence would require 10,000 to 25,000 troops. Ed Arnold, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and former British military officer, said rotations would drive the requirement much higher because only one third of a force is ready for frontline service at a given time.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected a foreign troop presence in Ukraine. In September 2025, he warned that Western forces deployed there would be legitimate targets.

Polish officials said the multinational force is intended to ease Ukrainian fears of another Russian attack after the war ends, despite not being a peacekeeping force. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged allies Wednesday to move quickly as Russian forces continued attacking Ukraine’s power grid and other critical infrastructure.

“Peace has no alternative, and postwar security guarantees must be truly cast-iron,” Zelenskyy said. His appeal came as Ukraine prepared for its fifth winter of full scale war.

The exercise also arrives as American, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators prepare to meet in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10 and 11, according to special envoy Steve Witkoff. The talks resumed in September after Witkoff and fellow envoy Jared Kushner met Putin in Moscow and then traveled to Kyiv for their first visit as negotiators.

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