Translating a book to film is somewhat analogous to translating literature, particularly poetry, from one language to another. If the translation is too literal it risks failing in the target medium, whereas if it's too idiomatic then it risks reshaping the source material.
In the case of LOTR, as you say, the changes made for a better film, while remaining true to the source material, and so were entirely justified. The Hobbit, on the other hand, was a complete travesty, partly because they practically rewrote the story.
“Translation is that which transforms everything so that nothing changes.”
– Günter Grass
China is widely suspected of supplying Russia with equipment and materials to support their war, however no-one has adduced anything concrete to support that theory so far.
The article itself doesn't cite much in the way of sources or evidence, other than mentioning a report by Molfar, the open source intelligence agency. Molfar has published reports on the same topic in the past, but there hasn't been anything recently.
If the Telegraph had new information or evidence they would be shouting a lot louder than this. This is most likely them covering up for a quiet day by dredging up some old rumours and repackaging them as news.