×

Kremlin dismisses report that China covertly trained Russian soldiers for Ukraine

By Thomson Reuters May 21, 2026 | 6:14 AM

MOSCOW, May 21 (Reuters) – 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)