The defence ministers of the five militarily strongest European NATO members have resolved to rehearse their support for Ukraine in full uniform, and the Paris meeting that opened on Tuesday morning has already produced a training schedule that runs until the end of next year. Officials said the ministers would not discuss aid in the abstract. Each delegation will bring its own staff officers, who will physically assemble a mock Ukrainian logistics depot in a former rail hall on the outskirts of the city.
The depot, which the French Ministry of the Armed Forces has begun erecting, contains full-size replicas of air-defence batteries, ammunition pallets and a field kitchen. A spokesperson said the ministers would move through the site on foot, with each delegation responsible for loading one truck per day. « We cannot claim to understand the supply chain until we have carried every crate ourselves, » the spokesperson said. Hotel staff near the Quai d'Orsay have been asked to prepare sandwiches for seventy soldiers who will act as Ukrainian drivers.
Participants said the exercise had already changed daily routines in the capital. A ministry-wide directive now requires all officials below the rank of deputy minister to attend a two-hour briefing on artillery shell calibres before their lunch break. The Paris metro line serving the defence ministry has added an extra stop to accommodate the convoy of olive-drab minibuses, and the cafés on the avenue have been instructed to close their terraces during the hours of the drill.
The ministers are expected to reconvene in three weeks for a second rehearsal, this time with the Ukrainian side represented by volunteers who will be asked to demonstrate their own tactics. Ministry officials confirmed that the Ukrainian participants have been briefed on the safety rules and will be assigned the role of the defenders.