Ukraine: First exercise in Poland of the multinational force

Runited in the Multinational Force for Ukraine (MNF-U), Kyiv's allies, led by France and the United Kingdom, will carry out a large-scale exercise in Poland to test their ability to mobilize and operate together on the ground.

Thus, about 2,800 military personnel from ten countries, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Estonia, France, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom and Sweden, will participate from 9 to 22 November in Poland in this exercise called “Koalicja”, which means coalition in Polish, announced today London and Paris.

Turkey, responsible for the maritime component of the coalition, which will be highlighted after the end of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, will carry out an exercise simulating security in the Black Sea, according to the French Ministry of the Armed Forces.

The military – including 1,100 French and 300 British – will be positioned in the city of Nowa Deba, an important military training pole located in southeast Poland, about a hundred kilometres from the Ukrainian border.

The Multinational Force for Ukraine, established in March 2025, aims to mobilize quickly as a ceasefire is signed to help the country invaded by Russia deter any new Russian aggression in the future.

This force should also contribute to the economic recovery of Ukraine, in particular by ensuring the Black Sea for Ukrainian agricultural exports and the reopening of airspace.

For the time being, talks to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II have stopped since February.

“ A just and lasting peace must be based on Ukraine’s ability to defend its sovereignty, as well as reliable security guarantees that contribute to its long-term security,” explained British General Tom Bateman, MNF-U commander, in statements to journalists in London.

Koalicja is “a key step, for it will be the concrete demonstration of MNF-U’s ability to be projected as soon as hostilities are over, estimated from Paris its French counterpart, General Armel Dirou, who will collide the exercise.

“This credites the coalition of volunteers,” he added.

In Paris, as in London, it stands out that MNF-U is not a NATO force and that its hypothetical future unfolding, far from the dividing line between Ukraine and Russia, as well as Koalicja, is not a combat mission, a demonstration of force or a peacekeeping operation.

“ The reason why we are doing this work is now purely practical,” General Bateman explained. “If progress is made towards peace, we need to be ready to act. The planning, coordination and preparation necessary for the deployment of a multinational force cannot begin only after the end of hostilities.”.

The Koalicja exercise should thus allow testing in real conditions the plans, forwarding, transmissions and compatibility of computer control systems outside the structures of the Atlantic Alliance.

Paris and London say they are ready to face possible information attacks or even hybrids by a Russia ready to accuse Westerners of war.

To convince that Koalicja has no offensive vocation, only light equipment – and no armored equipment – are sent to exercise, basically to protect the displaced military.

The French army will put into action a unit of “contact drones” with about fifty devices with a few kilometres of reach, according to its chief of staff, General Jacques de Montgros.

In addition, means of fighting drones will be deployed.

“ It is clear that we will protect our forces against any aggression and that the principles of self-defense will be applied,” Western leaders point out, reinforcing that the rules of engagement are “defensive nature.”.

In total, 24 of the 36 member countries of the Voluntary Coalition have committed themselves to participating in the air, sea or land component of the MNF-U.