China is not a direct co-belligerent in the war in Ukraine, but it has become a decisive enabler of Russia's war effort - providing the sclerotic Putinist regime with a vital economic lifeline and close to 80 percent of the dual-use materials or components that sustain its defense industrial base. A new report from the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) by Iskander Rehman lays out how Beijing's involvement extends far beyond economics.

The study, which draws parallels between the current conflict and the Spanish Civil War, details growing evidence that China has deployed military observers and engineers to engage in "in-theater learning" near the Ukrainian front lines, "Hvylya" reports, citing the report published in March 2026.

Beijing may also have been providing intelligence and targeting support - including satellite-based intelligence - to Russian forces, according to the study. This has occurred against a backdrop of intensified Sino-Russian military cooperation worldwide, with both autocracies engaging in joint maritime and bomber patrols from Asia to Alaska, and Russian forces helping train their Chinese counterparts in large-scale airborne operations that might be required in a Taiwan-related contingency.

Meanwhile, China's defense-intellectual community has been studying the conflict for broader lessons. Chinese analysts have focused on low-cost asymmetric capabilities, rapid frontline adaptation, and what they term "avatar warfare" - a new form of proxy conflict where a technologically advanced great power enhances a smaller partner's combat effectiveness through real-time intelligence. The war in Ukraine has also bolstered Beijing's confidence in its own ability to prevail in a protracted conflict with the United States, according to the report.

Half of all Russian artillery expenditure in 2025 consisted of North Korean-supplied ammunition, while Iranian drones and Syrian mercenaries rounded out the authoritarian coalition supporting Moscow. The HCSS report argues that this pattern mirrors the Spanish Civil War, where Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, and the Soviet Union all used Spain as a testing ground while democracies "refused to intervene directly."

"Hvylya" earlier reported on why China's ruling elite increasingly believe their window to global dominance is closing.