China’s covert military training of Russian forces last year was personally approved by Russia’s defence minister and directly involved at least four Russian and Chinese generals, based on two European officials and documents Reuters reviewed.

The officials said the participation of such senior personnel signaled how important the cooperation was to both countries, even as Beijing has denied that the training took place.

A classified Russian document seen by Reuters referred to an internal decree issued by Defence Minister Andrei Belousov in August 2025. The document said that, following Belousov’s decision, a delegation from Russia’s armed forces traveled to China to take part in training exercises at People’s Liberation Army (PLA) facilities.

Reuters says one training course described in the documents was a three-week session focused on radiological, biological and chemical protection, held at a military facility in Beijing in November. The reporting also describes and shows Russian soldiers being instructed by Chinese personnel, including instruction on chemical reconnaissance and radiation reconnaissance, and training related to protecting ventilation systems from contamination.

Russia and China’s defence ministries did not respond to requests for comment. China’s foreign ministry called the allegations “entirely unfounded,” and said its position on the Ukraine crisis had remained consistent.

The report comes after earlier Reuters reporting that, according to European intelligence agencies and military documents, China trained about 200 Russian personnel in November, with some reportedly later joining Russia’s war in Ukraine.

At the EU level, the bloc’s top foreign-policy official Kaja Kallas said on June 15 that Brussels had confirmed through its own channels that the training occurred and that it was assessing the implications, a point Beijing criticized as “nothing but smears.”

Reuters adds that one Russian and one Chinese military document tied to the reporting identified signatories of a July 2 agreement underpinning the training as Russian Major General Rustam Khusainov and Chinese Senior Colonel Sun Dayun. A senior Russian lawmaker overseeing defence affairs called the report “complete nonsense.”

The story also notes that while Russia has combat experience from its war in Ukraine, internal Russian military reporting seen by Reuters suggests China’s forces have not fought a war in decades, even as the documents praised equipment and training instruction.