Report Says China Trained About 200 Russian Personnel in 2025

China secretly trained approximately 200 Russian military personnel in late 2025, with some of those troops later deployed to combat operations in Ukraine, according to a report citing three European intelligence agencies and documents. The training, which focused on drone warfare, electronic warfare, and other modern battlefield tactics, took place at Chinese military facilities in Beijing and Nanjing.

The program was reportedly formalized by a dual-language agreement signed by senior Russian and Chinese military officers in Beijing on July 2, 2025. The agreement also outlined plans for hundreds of Chinese troops to receive training at Russian military facilities, indicating a reciprocal arrangement. Intelligence officials described the curriculum as covering drone operations, counter-drone techniques, electronic warfare, and combined arms coordination.

Some of the Russian personnel who underwent training were military instructors, according to the intelligence assessments, putting them in a position to disseminate the acquired knowledge within their forces. One agency stated it had confirmed the identities of a handful of individuals who trained in China and were later...