Overview
- A Reuters report published July 1, based on classified Russian documents and two European officials, says Defence Minister Andrei Belousov issued an internal decree in August 2025 approving the training programme.
- Classified material and reporting show about 200 Russian personnel attended courses in China in November 2025, including a three-week programme in Beijing on radiological, chemical and biological protection, and some trainees were later deployed to Ukraine.
- Documents and officials name senior officers as organisers and signatories, including Russian Major General Rustam Khusainov, Colonel General Rustam Muradov, Major General Vitaly Gerasimov and Chinese Senior Colonel Sun Dayun and Major General Li Jinsun.
- The European Union says it has independently confirmed the training and is assessing responses, while the Chinese foreign ministry calls the allegations unfounded and the Kremlin has disputed Western reporting.
- Analysts say the episode signals a deeper Russia–China defence tie with dual-use implications for the Ukraine war and could force the EU to weigh new security measures against the trade relationship with Beijing.