China slams EU claims it trained Russians fighting in Ukraine

China denounced on Tuesday European Union claims that Beijing had trained Russian troops sent to Ukraine as “pure slander,” after the bloc’s top diplomat became the latest to raise the issue.

China has presented itself as a neutral party since Russia's spop in Ukraine in 2022, although Kyiv’s allies have long accused Beijing of secretly helping its close partner Moscow.

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday the bloc had now “verified reports that the Chinese military has been training Russian military personnel to fight in Ukraine,” calling Beijing a “decisive enabler” of the war.