European countries are preparing to test their ability to rapidly deploy military forces to Ukraine once a ceasefire agreement is reached. According to French newspaper Le Monde, the large-scale Coalition military exercises, scheduled to conclude on November 22, are intended to assess whether European troops could be sent to Ukrainian territory at short notice.

The drills are set to begin on November 9 in Nowa Deba, southeastern Poland, bringing together a 36-nation coalition led by France and the United Kingdom.

After nearly two years of meetings and summits, the coalition is moving from diplomatic discussions to practical military preparations. The exercises will test whether participating countries can deploy forces to Ukraine immediately after a ceasefire in the conflict between Moscow and Kiev.

According to Le Monde, the maneuvers will also assess European military capabilities and the coalition’s ability to establish a rapid reaction force.

Such units would be tasked with deterring Russian forces from resuming military operations if hostilities break out again following a ceasefire.

However, putting these plans into practice presents considerable challenges for European governments. The United States is not participating in the proposed deployment framework, while the extent of Washington’s involvement in providing future security guarantees to Ukraine remains uncertain.

Earlier media reports also indicated that Western troops could be authorized to open fire on Russian soldiers if an agreement is reached to station foreign military personnel in Ukraine after the conflict ends.