Ukraine’s allies are taking a new step: they will hold joint military exercises this autumn in Poland. In addition to Poland, France and the United Kingdom are also expected to participate in the drills.
The first military exercises of the “Coalition of the Willing” in support of Ukraine will take place this autumn in Poland.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced this in Paris after the group of countries met in the French capital the previous day. Tusk mentioned French and British troops among the international participants. Poland’s armed forces will act both as participants and hosts. The exercises aim to “prepare the coalition to provide concrete security guarantees for Ukraine, but also for the region,” Tusk said, according to the Polish news agency PAP, as reported by DW.
French President Emmanuel Macron first mentioned the joint military exercises on Monday, without specifying where they would take place. According to Macron, they will be held in countries neighboring Ukraine. The goal is to demonstrate that they are “determined and credible on land, in the air, and at sea.”
The decision to establish a multinational intervention force had already been made in January. It would be deployed when necessary to help secure a ceasefire or peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. However, no such agreement is currently in sight, as Russia continues its war of aggression against Ukraine without interruption.
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said his country was also ready to host a permanent deployment of French and British troops. “If we take on more responsibility for NATO’s eastern border, then those who live farther away will come to Poland,” he said in Warsaw, according to PAP.
Poland shares a border of more than 500 kilometers with Ukraine. This border is also the external border of both the European Union and NATO.
Germany had also signaled its support for a multinational force in January. In Paris, Chancellor Friedrich Merz appealed to Russia: “Our message to Russia is the following: the time has come to sit down at the negotiating table. The time has come to agree to a ceasefire. The time has come to end this senseless bloodshed in Ukraine.”
Polish Prime Minister Tusk does not expect peace in Ukraine to be achieved soon.
He expects Russia, under President Vladimir Putin, to prolong the conflict at least until winter, Tusk said in Paris. “Given Russia and Putin’s unwavering stance, it appears impossible at this stage to reach a ceasefire or peace agreement in the near future.”
Due to Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine, Germany, France, and other European countries decided at their meeting in Paris to establish a joint missile defense system with Ukraine, DW reported.
