The Coalition of the Willing, an international grouping of countries supporting Ukraine, will conduct its first large-scale military exercise in Poland next week, the British Ministry of Defence announced on Tuesday.
The exercise, named Koalicja, will take place from November 9 to 22 and involve approximately 2,800 military personnel from 11 countries.
France and the United Kingdom will jointly lead the operation, with Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Türkiye also participating.
The drills are intended to assess the coalition’s readiness to deploy and sustain multinational forces in Ukraine following an eventual end to hostilities.
According to the UK Ministry of Defence, the exercise will test command structures, logistical arrangements and procedures for transporting, protecting and supplying military personnel and equipment.
It will also evaluate coordination between participating countries within the Multinational Force for Ukraine (MNF-U), the military component of the Coalition of the Willing.
The ministry emphasised that any deployment of the multinational force to Ukraine would take place only after fighting had ended and following a formal request from the Ukrainian government.
It also clarified that the force would not be responsible for peacekeeping operations or monitoring compliance with a ceasefire.
In addition to the land-based exercises in Poland, Turkish forces will conduct maritime drills in Istanbul focusing on mine-clearance operations.
These exercises will test arrangements for removing maritime mines and helping restore safe commercial shipping routes to Ukrainian ports.
The Coalition of the Willing brings together countries committed to providing Ukraine with military, economic and diplomatic assistance.
The forthcoming exercises represent a significant step towards establishing practical coordination among coalition members for a possible future deployment, although no timetable for such an operation has been announced.
The drills come as participating governments consider how to support Ukraine’s long-term security and stability once active hostilities have ceased.