Britain and France just rehearsed sending troops into Ukraine and Russia says they would be targets

Britain and France are about to run the first ever training exercise for the military force built to back up a future Ukraine peace deal.

So here's what's happening. About 2,800 troops from European countries are gathering in Poland. The exercise is called Koalicja, Polish for Coalition. It runs from 9 to 22 November. It's happening around Nowa Dęba in southeast Poland, roughly 100 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.

This is the first big exercise for something called the Multinational Force Ukraine, or MNF-U. That's the military arm of the Coalition of the Willing, the group of countries backing Ukraine with money, weapons and diplomacy. The UK and France co-chair it, and its headquarters is actually moving from Paris to London this year.

Now, here's a wrinkle. The UK government says 11 nations are taking part: Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the UK. But AFP's wire reporting, picked up by several outlets, says it's 10 countries in the actual land exercise. It says Turkey's role is separate, a maritime simulation run from Istanbul to test Black Sea mine clearing, with no Turkish troops on the ground. Both versions agree Turkey is running that naval piece. They just disagree on whether that counts Turkey into the total.

France is sending the biggest group, about 1,100 troops. The UK is sending 300, plus RAF Typhoon jets and a Voyager refuelling aircraft.

Who's in charge? British Lieutenant General Tom Bateman, a three-star general, commands MNF-U. French General Armel Dirou is co-leading this exercise alongside him.

So what is the exercise actually testing? How fast and how smoothly this force could move. It's being called a key milestone, proof that MNF-U could actually deploy the moment fighting in Ukraine stops.

Wes Streeting, the UK's Defence Secretary, says quote "ready to help Ukraine once the fighting stops".

Armel Dirou says quote "this is not a show of force".

And it's being kept deliberately low-key. Only light equipment, like drones, is being used. No tanks.

Here's the thing. This force isn't built to fight offensively. Its whole job is reassurance, and helping rebuild Ukraine's own armed forces, securing Ukrainian skies and seas and helping reopen shipping in the Black Sea. Under the plan, MNF-U only moves into Ukraine once the fighting has actually stopped, and only if Ukraine's government asks for it. It won't do any peacekeeping or ceasefire monitoring.

So where's America in all this? Involved in the talks, but not sending troops. The White House has offered intelligence and logistics help, but it has not committed to stepping in if the force comes under attack.

And Russia has already said what it thinks. President Vladimir Putin says foreign troops sent into Ukraine would be legitimate targets. Moscow still shows little appetite to settle for peace, and this exercise is happening before any ceasefire has even been agreed.

Western governments haven't said publicly what the rules of engagement would be if MNF-U troops came under attack, though troops would keep the right to defend themselves.

Now, some context. The war in Ukraine started with Russia's invasion in 2022. It has already lasted longer than the First World War. It's approaching its fifth year, and neither side is close to a decisive breakthrough.

So what don't we know yet? Whether Russia will formally protest or ramp up its warnings once this starts. What the actual rules of engagement would be if troops are attacked. And the final size, shape and job of any force that eventually deploys into Ukraine, which Western governments say is still undecided.

For now, this is a rehearsal. 2,800 troops, testing whether a coalition built on paper can actually move, for a war that hasn't ended yet.