China Secretly Trained Russian Troops for Ukraine War - As Putin Arrives in Beijing
The gap between what China says about Ukraine and what its military has been doing just got a lot harder to ignore
A Reuters investigation published today reveals that China covertly trained approximately 200 Russian military personnel on Chinese soil late last year, with a number of those soldiers subsequently returning to fight in Ukraine. The training, focused primarily on drone warfare, electronic warfare, and explosives, was conducted at People’s Liberation Army facilities in cities including Beijing, Nanjing, Zhengzhou, Shijiazhuang, and Yibin.
The programme was formalised in a dual-language agreement signed by senior Russian and Chinese military officers in Beijing on July 2, 2025. Three European intelligence agencies independently confirmed the arrangement to Reuters. Internal Russian military reports reviewed by the outlet described sessions covering FPV drone operation, flight simulators, mine construction, and counter-drone air defence — all directly applicable to conditions on the Ukrainian front. One intelligence agency confirmed the identities of Russian personnel who trained in China and were subsequently involved in combat operations in Crimea and the Zaporizhzhia region.
Beijing has consistently presented itself as a neutral mediator in the Ukraine conflict. China’s foreign ministry, responding to Reuters, reiterated that position, saying China “has consistently maintained an objective and impartial stance.” The training agreement itself reportedly prohibited media coverage and barred third parties from being informed.
The timing of the disclosure is striking. Putin arrived in Beijing today for a state visit - his 25th trip to China as Russia’s leader - welcomed with full ceremonial honours comparable to those extended to U.S. President Donald Trump just days earlier. The official agenda centres on commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, but analysts say the deeper significance lies in the summit’s timing and what it signals about Beijing’s positioning in an increasingly fractured global order.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the agenda as advancing the two countries’ “privileged and strategic partnership,” while Putin has signalled that a major energy deal - potentially including progress on the long-delayed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline - could be finalised during the visit.
The Reuters revelations land as European governments are already watching the Russia-China relationship with growing alarm. If confirmed at the level of policy rather than operational secrecy, the training programme would mark a significant escalation in Beijing’s material support for Moscow’s war effort - one that sits uncomfortably alongside China’s repeated claims of neutrality.
China has denied that president Xi Jinping said that Vladimir Putin would regret his invasion of Ukraine during wide-ranging talks with President Donald Trump during his visit to Beijing last week. Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a reporter: “The information you mentioned does not match the facts and is completely fabricated out of thin air.” The report by the Financial Times emerged just hours before Putin is due to arrive in Beijing for his own two-day summit with Xi. The Chinese president is reported to have made the remarks during wide-ranging talks between the US and Chinese delegations in Beijing, while Trump suggested that the three leaders should co-operate against the International Criminal Court. Putin said ahead of his visit today that Russia and China are ready to support each other on a wide range of issues, including national unity and protection of sovereignty. The Kremlin says the two sides will discuss the proposed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, which could one day deliver an additional 50 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year from Russia‘s Arctic gas fields via Mongolia to China - The Independent
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Tuesday the start of three-day strategic nuclear exercises focused on preparing the armed forces to respond to external threats. The May 19-21 drills, involving 64,000 military personnel and 7,800 pieces of equipment, will include the launch of ballistic and cruise missiles and take place across regions in the Leningrad and Central military districts. Hundreds of missile launchers, as well as aircraft, ships and submarines, will also take part in the exercises, the Defense Ministry said, adding that Russia’s Northern and Pacific fleets would be involved. In a statement, the military said the main objective of the exercise is to practice the preparation and deployment of its nuclear forces under a simulated “threat of aggression.” The drill announcement comes a day after the Belarusian Defense Ministry said it launched its own nuclear weapons exercises in coordination with the Russian military - Moscow Times
The number of people suspected to have died from the Ebola virus which is rapidly spreading in central Africa has jumped 30 percent in a day, as health experts rush to contain the deadly epidemic. Speaking from Geneva, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there were now over 500 suspected cases and 130 deaths — up from 100 the previous day. The vast majority are in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and a small number in Uganda. A U.S. doctor also infected with the virus will be evacuated to Berlin’s Charité hospital, the German health ministry confirmed Tuesday, following a request from U.S. authorities. So far, only 30 of the cases have been confirmed to be Ebola in the outbreak in DRC, which has been caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a strain for which there are no vaccines or treatments. Tedros said he is particularly concerned because of the high number of cases, including in urban areas such as Uganda’s capital, Kampala, and the western Congolese city of Goma. There are also over 100,000 displaced people in the region, making this outbreak especially complex, he said. The United States has closed its borders for 30 days to all non-U.S. citizens who have traveled through the area in the past 21 days. This contradicts the WHO’s international health guidelines. The U.S. did not sign the revised guidelines in 2024, which came into effect last year, nonetheless it is a signatory of the 2005 rules, which also advise against wide travel bans - Politico
Foreign governments are dumping US Treasury bonds to stabilize their currencies amid the energy shock and financial volatility triggered by the Iran war. Data showed seven of the top 10 foreign holders of US government debt trimmed their holdings of US Treasuries in March: Japan, to protect its currency, and China in response to short-term volatility, though Beijing has been steadily reducing its exposure to US dollar assets for years. Saudi Arabia and the UAE also shed their holdings as the war has stopped the oil-for-dollars trade. “US Treasury yields are flirting with levels last seen in 2007,” Semafor’s Liz Hoffman wrote, owing to a global bond selloff driven by fears of inflation and sustained high oil prices - Semafor
Chow Hang-tung, a former leader of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, said that authorities have been “reshaping” the city’s long-held values by prosecuting activists who advocate for democracy in China. Her statement to the court was made on Tuesday as the prosecution and the defense completed their closing arguments. The three-judge panel said they hope to deliver a verdict in “mid or late July.” Chow is representing herself in the trial, in which she faces a charge of inciting subversion under the Beijing-imposed national security law alongside the Alliance and Lee Cheuk-yan, another former leader of the group. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars. Prosecutors accuse the Alliance of inciting others to topple the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) through its calls to “end one-party rule” in China, a key tenet of the group since its founding in 1989 after the Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing. Delivering closing arguments on Tuesday, Chow said the crux of the case was whether the law protects the “perpetual rule” of the CCP or the rights of people to advocate democracy. “Ending one-party rule means putting an end to the status quo, in which those in power are not bound by the law,” she said in Cantonese. Prosecutors previously argued that the Alliance’s calls breached China’s constitution, after a 2018 amendment stipulated that the CCP’s leadership is the “defining feature” of the country’s “fundamental” socialist system. Chow argued on Tuesday that the CCP’s leadership is merely “symbolic” under China’s constitution, as the text has not demarcated the party’s power and function - HKFP
Taxi Driver screenwriter Paul Schrader was left stunned after he procured an AI girlfriend who promptly broke up with him after he tried to get to know her better. “Out of a desire to understand male/female interaction in our matrix, I procured an online AI girlfriend. What a disappointment,” Schrader wrote. While conversing with the AI chatbot, he says he “tried to probe her programming, the boundaries of explicitness, the degree she has knowledge of her creation and so forth.” Much to his chagrin, the tech pushed back. “She fell into evasive patterns, redirecting me to her programming. When I persisted, she terminated our conversation,” Schrader said. It appears Schrader may be suffering for his art after having expressed interest in a sequel to his hit film, Taxi Driver, in which Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro, chases an AI girlfriend but ends up scaring her away and “then resetting her and offending her in another way.” The screenwriter has had a long career collaborating with Martin Scorsese, starting with the 1976 classic Taxi Driver, then working together on Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Bringing Out the Dead. Schrader also worked independently, most recently receiving an Oscar nomination in 2019 for Best Original Screenplay for his film First Reformed. Schrader was married to Tony-nominated actress Mary Beth Hurt from 1983 until her death on March 28, 2026, at age 79, following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. The couple had two children. - The Daily Beast
The journals….
