Kremlin Dismisses Report That China Covertly Trained Russian Soldiers for Ukraine
By Reuters | 21 May, 2026

A Russian-Chinese agreement from July 2025 reviewed by Reuters said about 200 Russian troops would be trained at military facilities in locations including Beijing and the eastern city of Nanjing.

Firefighters work at the site of a Russian combined military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine April 15, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

The Kremlin on Thursday dismissed as false a Reuters report that China's army secretly trained about 200 Russian soldiers in China late last year, some of whom went on to fight in Ukraine.

A Russian-Chinese agreement from July 2025 reviewed by Reuters said about 200 Russian troops would be trained at military facilities in locations including Beijing and the eastern city of Nanjing.

The agreement also said hundreds of Chinese troops would undergo training at military facilities in Russia.

Asked about the report on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "A great deal of false information is published by newspapers in both Europe and the United States. This is a problem we face, and such false information must be taken with a pinch of salt."

Beijing says it is neutral in the Ukraine conflict and has sought to present itself as a peace mediator. President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Ukraine peace efforts when they met in China this week.

(Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)