Poland to host Coalition of the Willing military exercise in November 2026

Nearly 5,000 soldiers will take part, a Polish radio station reports. The United States is not taking part.

The Coalition of the Willing, a group of countries backing Ukraine, will hold exercises named Koalicja, Polish for coalition, at Nowa Dęba in Poland from 9 to 22 November 2026, to test the alliance's ability to deploy forces to Ukraine after the war ends. RMF FM, a Polish radio station, reported almost 5,000 soldiers would take part, nearly 2,000 of them Polish. Le Monde, the French newspaper, put the figure at almost 3,000 soldiers.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the drills at the Coalition of the Willing leaders' meeting in Paris in July 2026. He said the maneuvers will "strengthen allied states' readiness to act together for the security of the region and of Ukraine". The main participants are France and the United Kingdom, together with Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Belgium.

Le Monde reported that the exercise will not be a show of force with tanks and rockets. Its purpose is to test the command system and the logistics procedures for moving troops and equipment across Europe. Counter-drone work is an important element of the drills. The planning is led by the United Kingdom and Poland, the two countries that announced the exercise in Poland for November 2026.

The United States is not taking part in the exercise, and its role in future security guarantees for Ukraine remains largely uncertain. That absence bears on the July decision, when the Coalition of the Willing set its first exercises for Poland, with British and French forces preparing the coalition for the post-war reality in Ukraine. In July 2026, Russian ambassador Kelin said the deployment of foreign troops and military bases on Ukrainian territory is completely unacceptable.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in early October, during the first visit to Berlin of British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, that he wants to hold a Coalition of the Willing summit in Berlin. He invited the participants to meet in November to coordinate support for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on 13 October that preparations for the meeting were under way. No date has been set.