UK soldiers taking part in NATO’s Exercise Steadfast Dart 25 say they are ready to deploy to Ukraine.

The first large-scale deployment of NATO’s Allied Reaction Force (ARF) is drawing to a close in below-freezing conditions at a training base in Smardan, Romania, 16 miles from the Ukrainian border.

Exercise Steadfast Dart 25, which ran from 10 to 21 February, saw more than 10,000 troops from nine European nations conduct joint drills across Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania. US forces were not involved – a rare absence in a large NATO military exercise.

The purpose of Steadfast Dart was to test NATO's ability to activate, coordinate and quickly deploy the ARF along the alliance's eastern flank. The ARF, first established in July 2024, is a flexible, high-readiness force operated under the command of the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Italy. 

Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Türkiye, and the UK provided dozens of aircraft, more than 1,500 ground vehicles, and 17 naval assets during the exercise, according to NATO’s statement. It specifically focused on urban and trench warfare, as well as combatting drones. 

Steadfast Dart also marked a clear message of NATO deterrence as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches the three-year mark on 24 February.

It comes as European heads of state debate over the deployment of peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, amid controversial talks between the US and Russia over a Ukrainian peace deal.

Following those talks, President Trump appeared to blame Ukraine for starting the conflict, saying: “But today I heard: ‘Oh, well, we [Ukraine] weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years. You should have ended it three years. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”

In response, European and NATO leaders held emergency talks in Paris on 17 February.

Mixed responses ensued. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejected the idea of putting boots on the ground in Ukraine, while UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he is ready and willing to, should there be a ceasefire.

Brigadier Andy Watson, who commanded the UK’s contribution to the NATO exercise, said his brigade “is absolutely ready” should they receive orders to deploy to Ukraine.

Approximately 2,500 UK troops and 700 military vehicles moved 1,400 miles across Europe at relatively short notice as part of Steadfast Dart.