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Chinese Foreign Ministry calls reports on training Russian soldiers in China 'slander'

China has officially denied reports that it trained Russian servicemen, with the Foreign Ministry calling the claims 'slander and defamation.' The reports, which allege high-level military cooperation, have drawn concern in Europe, though Beijing maintains its balanced stance on the Ukraine crisis.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 outlets · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 1–6, 2026 Published Aug 15

Lead

China has officially denied reports that it provided military training to Russian forces, with the Foreign Ministry describing the allegations as "pure slander and defamation." The denial comes amid reports of covert training exercises that have raised concerns in Europe.

Coverage Comparison

The story has been covered from two contrasting angles. The Jerusalem Post, citing Reuters reporting, detailed allegations that China's covert military training of Russian forces was personally approved by Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and involved at least four Russian and Chinese generals. The report said the training included radiological, biological, and chemical warfare instruction, and that the European Union has confirmed the training took place and is assessing its implications.

In contrast, TASS, the Russian state news agency, focused on China's official response. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning called the reports "outright slander," stating they have "absolutely no factual basis." She emphasized that China has "always taken a balanced stance on the Ukraine crisis, seeking a political settlement."

The Jerusalem Post's framing highlighted the significance of Russia-China cooperation, while TASS emphasized Beijing's indignation and denial, reflecting the divergent perspectives of the two outlets.

Key Claims

Covert training approved by Russian defense minister: According to reports from the Jerusalem Post, two European officials and documents seen by Reuters indicate that the training was personally approved by Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and involved at least four Russian and Chinese generals. A classified Russian document reportedly refers to an internal decree issued by Belousov in August 2025.

Training content: The reports allege that Russian soldiers participated in a three-week training course focused on radiological, chemical, and biological protection at a military facility in Beijing in November. Images described in the reports show Russian soldiers being lectured by a Chinese instructor on topics such as "chemical reconnaissance," "radiation reconnaissance," and protecting ventilation systems from contamination.

China's denial: The Chinese Foreign Ministry has categorically denied these reports. Spokeswoman Mao Ning told a briefing that the allegations, which she said were causing concern on the German side, have "absolutely no factual basis" and are "pure slander and defamation."

EU response: The Jerusalem Post reported that the European Union has confirmed the training took place and is assessing the implications. The EU has also imposed sanctions on Chinese companies that support Russia's war effort.

China's stance on Ukraine: Mao Ning reiterated that Beijing has "always taken a balanced stance on the Ukraine crisis, seeking a political settlement." She added that China "firmly adheres to its own approach" and that Germany should "objectively and rationally evaluate China's position."

Perspectives

Chinese Foreign Ministry: The reports are baseless slander aimed at denigrating China's balanced and principled position on the Ukraine crisis. Beijing has consistently sought a political settlement and has no involvement in military training of Russian forces.

European Officials (as cited by Reuters/Jerusalem Post): The involvement of high-ranking Russian and Chinese military officials in training linked to the Ukraine war signals the strategic importance of the cooperation and has caused alarm in Europe, particularly given the sensitive nature of radiological, biological, and chemical warfare training.

How each outlet told it

Jerusalem Post as of Jul 1, 2026, 7:00 AM UTC

Framing: Exposure of covert military training between China and Russia — Informative, with a hint of alarm

Facts Included:

China's covert military training of Russian forces was personally approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin's defense minister
At least four Russian and Chinese generals were involved in the training
The training included radiological, biological, and chemical warfare
Russian soldiers were lectured by Chinese instructors on topics such as chemical reconnaissance and radiation reconnaissance
The EU has confirmed that the training took place and is assessing the implications
The EU has imposed sanctions on Chinese companies that support Russia's war effort

Read the source article →

TASS — English as of Jul 6, 2026, 9:31 AM UTC

Framing: China denies reports of training Russian servicemen — Defensive, with a tone of indignation

Facts Included:

China denies reports of training Russian servicemen
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning calls the reports 'slander and defamation'
China claims to have a balanced stance on the Ukraine crisis

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimChina's covert military training of Russian forces was personally approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin's defense minister and directly involved at least four Russian and Chinese generals.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusContested via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 1, 2026, 7:00 AM UTC
ClaimChina denies reports of training Russian servicemen.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusContested via TASS — English as of Jul 6, 2026, 9:31 AM UTC
ClaimThe training included radiological, biological, and chemical warfare.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusContested via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 1, 2026, 7:00 AM UTC
ClaimRussian soldiers were lectured by Chinese instructors on topics such as chemical reconnaissance and radiation reconnaissance.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusContested via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 1, 2026, 7:00 AM UTC
ClaimThe EU has confirmed that the training took place and is assessing the implications.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 1, 2026, 7:00 AM UTC
ClaimThe EU has imposed sanctions on Chinese companies that support Russia's war effort.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 1, 2026, 7:00 AM UTC
ClaimChinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning calls the reports 'slander and defamation'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 6, 2026, 9:31 AM UTC
ClaimChina claims to have a balanced stance on the Ukraine crisis.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 6, 2026, 9:31 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 outlets · 2 articles consulted: Jerusalem Post, TASS — English 8 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15