Russian generals attended secret military training in China with Belousov's approval

Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov personally approved a secret military training programme in which Russian military personnel participated in drills in China last year. According to two European officials and documents available to Reuters, the training was attended directly by at least four generals from both Russia and China.

Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov personally approved a secret military training programme in which Russian military personnel participated in drills in China. This is confirmed by statements from two European officials and documents available to Reuters.

Generals at training

The training was attended directly by at least four generals from both Russia and China. It was a classified programme whose existence has not been officially acknowledged by either country. According to Reuters sources, it took place last year in 2024.

Western concern grows

Information about such cooperation raises serious questions about the extent of military rapprochement between Russia and China. Western intelligence agencies have for some time warned that defence cooperation between the two countries has deepened since the start of Russia's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine. The existence of the secret training programme suggests that cooperation has reached a new level, involving general staff-level exchanges.

European officials who shared this information have not been publicly identified, but according to them, it is evidence of deep strategic coordination between the two countries. Russia and China have not yet responded to the reports.