Report: China Secretly Trained 200 Russian Soldiers Sent to Fight in Ukraine

Reports published today (Tuesday) in international media point to a significant deepening of cooperation between China and Russia against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. According to a report by the Reuters news agency, China secretly trained 200 Russian soldiers who took part in the fighting, as part of a secret agreement signed between the two countries in July 2025.

According to the details published, officials in Beijing agreed to provide the Russian soldiers with training in advanced military fields, including drone warfare, electronic warfare, and air defense. It was also reported that some of those soldiers have already returned to the battlefield in Ukraine and are operating, among other places, in the Crimea and Zaporizhzhia regions.

The report comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin is in China and is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Overnight, Putin addressed relations between the two countries and declared that "the relationship is at the highest level ever." He added that Moscow and Beijing are prepared to continue supporting one another on a range of issues, including safeguarding sovereignty and national unity. Putin presented the cooperation between the countries as an innocent move: "Our friendship is not directed against anyone, but rather for peace and prosperity."

At the same time, another report published overnight in the Financial Times sheds light on messages delivered at the summit held last week in Beijing between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump. According to the report, Xi told Trump that Russian President Vladimir Putin may ultimately regret his decision to launch a war against Ukraine.

That same report also noted that Trump raised during the meeting a proposal for cooperation among Washington, Beijing, and Moscow against the International Criminal Court.