Russian Soldiers Secretly Trained in China to Fight in Ukraine: Report
According to Die Welt, hundreds of Russian soldiers secretly went to China to be trained by the Chinese military, before being deployed to Ukraine. The German newspaper reported on Tuesday, May 19, citing classified documents from European intelligence services. Chinese soldiers were also trained in Russia, and both countries exchanged information on Western weapons.
The AFP could not independently confirm this information, which comes during a summit between allies Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The German foreign intelligence service, the BND, did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
According to Die Welt, several hundred Russian soldiers participated in training programs at six different military sites in China in late 2025. The programs focused on “the use of unmanned systems, electronic countermeasures against drones, as well as modern combat simulations,” the newspaper reported.
“Closer Cooperation between Moscow and Beijing”
Participants included soldiers of different ranks and operations. Some were members of the Russian elite unit Rubicon specializing in drones.
After the training, “dozens of them began fighting in Ukraine at the beginning of 2026, including some in command posts,” according to Die Welt.
“Anything that enables Russia to continue this aggression against Ukraine is a threat to European security, to our security in Germany,” a spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry commented without confirming or denying Die Welt’s revelations.
“The growing and decisive support from China to the Russian invasion also affects our security,” he added during a regular press conference.
“These reports align with the trends we have observed in recent years,” said Marc Henrichmann, president of the parliamentary control commission for intelligence services in the Bundestag, to Handelsblatt.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, “we have seen increasingly closer cooperation between Moscow and Beijing, both in the military and economic fields,” he added.
“Moscow also secretly trained around 600 Chinese soldiers last year, mainly focusing on armored troops, artillery, military engineering, and anti-aircraft defense,” according to Die Welt.
Moscow and Beijing also exchange information on Western-made weapons used in Ukraine, such as the Himars multiple rocket launcher or the Patriot anti-aircraft defense systems supplied by the United States, the newspaper reported.
