Media: EU has received evidence of China’s involvement in training Russian military personnel for the war in Ukraine
The EU has stated that there is evidence that hundreds of Russian soldiers have been trained in China to take part in the war against Ukraine. According to European officials, some of them have already been deployed to the front line.
The European Union has publicly confirmed for the first time that there is evidence of Russian military personnel being trained in China to take part in the war against Ukraine. According to a senior EU official, European intelligence services have established that hundreds of Russian soldiers underwent training, and some of them were subsequently deployed to the combat zone. The senior EU official spoke to Suspilne about this .
He said that European security services had recorded training taking place at several locations in China.
“Our services have confirmed that such training took place at several locations within China. We are talking about hundreds of people, but this contradicts what the Chinese side has told us so far,” the EU representative stated.
These statements could become one of the most sensitive episodes in relations between Brussels and Beijing since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. Earlier, Reuters reported that at the end of last year, around 200 Russian military personnel underwent training in China, after which some of them returned to take part in combat operations. Now, European officials claim to have their own confirmation of such facts.
Meanwhile, Beijing continues to categorically deny the allegations. The Chinese authorities describe such reports as an attempt to shift responsibility for the war onto other countries and insist that they are not involved in the military training of Russian servicemen. The Kremlin has adopted a similar stance. Russian Presidential Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov previously stated that reports of Russian military training in China are untrue and should be viewed with scepticism.
It is known that the question of China’s possible role in supporting Russia will be one of the central topics at the meeting of EU foreign ministers, which is to take place on 15 June in Luxembourg. In addition to the situation surrounding Ukraine, European diplomats intend to discuss a wider range of issues related to relations with China.
The focus will be on the European defence industry’s dependence on Chinese suppliers and manufacturers. Brussels also plans to assess the risks to the EU’s collective security in the event of potential crises in the Asia-Pacific region.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, is expected to emphasise the need for EU member states to maintain unity in their relations with China. Brussels believes that, against a backdrop of growing geopolitical challenges, a common EU position is becoming a key factor in dialogue with one of the world’s major powers.