Russia shares Ukraine war lessons with China - The Economist
Photo: Chinese military personnel (Getty Images)
China is learning combat lessons from Russia's war against Ukraine and acquiring advanced military technologies from Moscow, including expertise in drone warfare, urban combat operations, and other battlefield tactics, according to The Economist.
According to European intelligence, Chinese military personnel have been training at a military range near Volgograd, Russia, since 2024. The same facility is regularly used by units of Russia's 8th Combined Arms Army, which is involved in combat operations in eastern Ukraine.
The training covers key aspects of modern warfare, including:
- Drones and electronic warfare: the use of UAVs, electronic warfare systems, and autonomous platforms;
- Combat tactics: operations in urban environments, trench networks, and wooded terrain;
- Assault operations: capturing fortified positions and laying minefields;
- Combat medicine: providing frontline medical care under intense enemy fire.
According to Oleksandr Danylyuk, a former adviser to Ukraine's defense minister, Beijing has recognized that the nature of warfare has changed dramatically and is seeking to learn from forces with real battlefield experience.
Technology transfers and intelligence on US weapons
Cooperation between China and Russia extends beyond training infantry troops and drone operators. Western officials believe Moscow is also transferring air and missile defense technologies to Beijing.
Russia is reportedly helping China make its nuclear-powered submarines less detectable to enemy surveillance systems. These submarines are considered a key component of any potential military operation against Taiwan.
The two countries are also continuing work on a missile attack early-warning system, a project that Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly discussed as early as 2019.
According to Lyle Goldstein of Brown University, China is particularly interested in Russian assessments of how Western weapons perform on the battlefield in Ukraine. This includes the HIMARS multiple-launch rocket system, which is also used by Taiwan's armed forces.
Beijing denies the claims
Officially, China denies that its military is being trained using lessons from the war in Ukraine and downplays the extent of its military-technical cooperation with Russia. However, intelligence assessments, documents, and expert testimony suggest otherwise.
The Economist notes that China has not participated in a war since 1979 and is seeking to compensate for its lack of combat experience by studying modern methods of warfare.
As previously reported by Reuters, Chinese and Russian forces held joint military exercises at a military facility in Beijing in November 2025. The training of Russian troops in China was personally approved by Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov.
Reuters also reported that China secretly trained around 200 Russian soldiers on its territory in late 2025. Some of them later returned to the front lines to take part in Russia's war against Ukraine.
