China's armed forces covertly trained approximately 200 Russian military personnel in drone warfare and combat tactics in late 2025, and some of those soldiers have since returned to fight in Ukraine, Reuters reported on May 19, citing three European intelligence agencies. A significant number of the Russian trainees were reportedly military instructors capable of disseminating this knowledge to frontline units, with the curriculum focusing heavily on electronic warfare, counter-drone measures and combined arms tactics.

The intelligence leak comes just before Putin's scheduled summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing and underscores Russia's interest in utilizing China's drone ecosystem to improve battlefield adaptation. A July 2025 bilateral agreement established the training program, which explicitly prohibited media coverage and mandated strict secrecy regarding the joint activities.