European troops will rehearse in Poland for a possible Ukraine deployment

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European troops will rehearse in Poland later this month, testing plans for a possible deployment to Ukraine if a peace deal is reached. Britain and France are leading the force’s first exercise, which is also intended to signal to Russia and the Trump administration that European countries are stepping up militarily, the Associated Press and ABC News reported. Plans for a reassurance force were set out last year as a proposed long-term security guarantee, the BBC reported. Western officials said a deployed force would not conduct offensive operations, peacekeeping or ceasefire monitoring; its purpose would be to reassure Ukraine and help rebuild its armed forces. A French official told the AP that the U.S. and Germany refused NATO security guarantees, prompting France and the U.K. to pursue a separate European proposal. Officials could not comment on the force’s final makeup.