Reuters: Russian Soldiers Deployed to Ukraine After Secret Training in China

(CNA, Kyiv, 19th, Comprehensive Foreign Report) According to three European intelligence agencies and documents reviewed by Reuters, China's armed forces secretly trained about 200 Russian military personnel in China late last year, and some of these personnel have already returned to fight in Ukraine. According to Reuters, this secret training primarily focused on drone operations, with details contained in a bilingual Russo-Chinese agreement signed by high-ranking Russian and Chinese officials in Beijing on July 2, 2025. The agreement states that approximately 200 Russian soldiers would be trained at military facilities in places like Beijing and Nanjing. Sources said that a number of personnel around that figure subsequently went to China for training. The agreement also mentioned that hundreds of Chinese soldiers would also be trained at military facilities in Russia. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, China and Russia have held several joint military exercises. However, Beijing has repeatedly claimed to maintain neutrality in the conflict and has positioned itself as a peace mediator. An intelligence official stated that by training Russian military personnel at the operational and tactical levels, who were then deployed to the war in Ukraine, China's involvement in the European continent's war is far more direct than previously known. Both the Russian and Chinese defense ministries did not respond to requests for comment on the details of the Reuters report. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement to Reuters, said that on the Ukraine crisis, the Chinese side has always upheld an objective and fair position and is committed to promoting peace talks. This stance is consistent and clear, as witnessed by the international community, and relevant parties should not deliberately incite confrontation or shift responsibility.