Russia’s defense minister approved covert Chinese training for troops in war link

Andrei Belousov personally authorized covert Chinese training for Russian troops in 2025, according to a classified Russian document that tied the program to the war in Ukraine. The arrangement involved at least four Russian and Chinese generals, a level of participation that put the channel far above routine military diplomacy.

The document referred to an internal decree Belousov issued in August 2025, and the underlying bilateral agreement was signed in Beijing on July 2, 2025. It covered training for about 200 Russian servicemen at military facilities in Beijing and Nanjing, with hundreds of Chinese military personnel to be trained in Russia in return.

One three-week course in Beijing in November focused on radiological, chemical and biological protection. Images in the file showed Russian soldiers being instructed by a Chinese teacher and studying a model nuclear reactor, while other material described chemical and radiation reconnaissance and methods for protecting ventilation systems from contamination.

European officials said the rank of the officers and the scope of the program showed a strategic relationship that went beyond political signaling. For NATO planners, the details point to operational cooperation in areas with direct battlefield relevance, especially if some of the roughly 200 Russian trainees later returned to fight in Ukraine. China’s foreign ministry rejected the allegations and said its position on the Ukraine crisis had not changed.