British troops during a previous military exercise in Poland in 2024 Credit Jeff Gilbert Danielle Sheridan Defence Editor Show biography As The Telegraph's first female Defence Editor, Danielle has broken countless exclusives on the British military. She has reported from Ukraine since Putin's invasion, laying bare the extent of Russia's depravity.

6:00am GMT Soldiers from the British Army’s “Desert Rats” unit will take part in the first major training exercise to prepare Ukraine’s allies for the possible end of the war with Russia They will be deployed as part of a nearly 3,000-strong force to Poland for Exercise Koalicj, to be led by the UK and France, this month.

It is the first significant drill organised by the military arm of the coalition of the willing, the alliance spearheaded by Sir Keir Starmer, the former prime minister and Emmanuel Macron, the French president, to provide post-war security guarantees for Ukraine.

Eleven nations will be involved in the exercise by the coalition’s Multinational Force-Ukraine (MNF-U), which will test how to move, protect, and supply a peacekeeping force that would help support Kyiv’s armed forces once the conflict ends.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has previously warned that any British and European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine would be “legitimate” targets for Moscow Senior Western officials have stressed, however, that the MNF-U – which does not fall under the Nato umbrella – would not engage in fighting with Russia if hostilities were renewed.

“It would not contribute should those circumstances unfold,” one official told The Telegraph.

Britain’s deployment to Poland will include troops from the Army’s 7 Brigade, which earned its “Desert Rats” nickname while fighting the Nazis during the Second World War.

In total, 300 British troops will take part, out of a total of 2,800. The Western official added this figure was a baseline and the force would scale up or down depending on what was required.

Lieutenant General Tom Bateman, the commander of the MNF-U, said the exercise was designed to “provide reassurance and support the regeneration of Ukraine’s armed forces, strengthening their ability to deter and, if necessary, defend against future Russian aggression”.

He added: “Waiting until the conditions are right before beginning that preparation would delay our ability to support Ukraine and increase the risks associated with any future deployment.”RAF Typhoons and a Voyager refuelling aircraft will also be involved in the exercise, simulating how they would assist commercial air travel travelling through Ukraine’s airspace.

The other nations joining Britain, France and hosts Poland in the major drill are Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey.

Wes Streeting, the Defence Secretary, said: “This exercise shows the UK is stepping up, alongside France and our allies, to prepare for the day peace comes to Ukraine. This isn’t a hypothetical plan – it’s a real force, ready to help Ukraine once the fighting stops.”An additional £10bn of British support for Kyiv was announced by John Healey, the Chancellor, in last month’s Budget.

However, Mr Healey failed to commit to increasing defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by the end of the decade despite previously resigning as defence secretary over a shortfall in funding.