UK and European peacekeepers in Ukraine would be allowed to fire back at Russians, officials say

“Clearly we will protect our forces against any aggression,” an official familiar with the plans said, while emphasising that western troops in Ukraine would engage in a manner that was “defensive in nature”.

The plans emerged as the UK and France set out Exercise Koalicja, an 11-country rehearsal in Poland later this month of how European militaries could deploy rapidly to Ukraine if the war comes to an end. It will involve 2,800 soldiers, sailors and aviators, with France supplying 1,500 troops from its 1st Division and Britain 300 from the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade. Poland, Germany, Belgium, Estonia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Turkey are also participating.

A future deployment in support of Kyiv remains hypothetical, though it is a reminder that the conflict could reignite involving British forces, given Russia's history of low-level attacks during the Ukraine ceasefire between 2014 and 2022. Lt Gen Tom Bateman, the commander of the force, said the UK, France and other European countries were committed “to providing robust and binding security guarantees for Ukraine following a cessation of hostilities”. The exercise, he said, would demonstrate “military preparedness, rapid deployment capabilities and ability to operate effectively”, testing plans that have been in development for over a year.

Bateman emphasised that the force was “non-Nato”, operating outside the western military alliance, and expected to have little to no US support if deployed into Ukraine. “We are not dependent on US systems,” one official added when asked whether the force relied on Starlink satellites for communications. International concerns have emerged about the reliability of US support. Last month, the US restricted Ukraine's use of the Starlink military variant Starshield for about 10 days, affecting medium-range drone missions.

A key aim of the force would be to assist with “regenerating and strengthening” Ukraine's military after the war, Bateman said, though the intention was for western troops to deploy well away from the front. Rules of engagement would nonetheless allow troops to defend themselves against Russian drone attacks, raising the question of how Moscow would respond to any armed incidents.

President Donald Trump has said he would not commit American forces to peacekeeping in Ukraine should a durable ceasefire be agreed. A fresh round of peace efforts this autumn has yielded little progress, though there are plans for three-way talks brokered by the US later this month. Both countries have continued to bomb each other's energy infrastructure, and on Sunday and Monday their air-raid alert apps were hacked, with the Ukrainian one briefly warning of nuclear and chemical threats as well as “streetfighting”.

Fighter jets are expected to help reopen Ukraine's commercial airports with patrols, and there are plans to clear mines in the Black Sea to reopen it for grain exports and other maritime trade, an operation led by Turkey.