Honors among thieves
In a romance of two pariahs, Myanmar and Russia’s regimes showered each other with honours on Thursday to celebrate heightened cooperation between two armed forces notorious for war crimes.
Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing conferred two new honorary titles he created last week on 27 military officers from Russia, raising the total number of Russian recipients of his medals to 32 since the 2021 coup.
Previously, Russia had only conferred honors on Min Aung Hlaing and his deputy Soe Win. But on Thursday the Russian Defense Ministry showered medals on chief of general staff (army, navy, air force) Maung Maung Aye, joint secretary of the State Administration Council Ye Win Oo, transport minister Mya Tun Oo, junta cabinet office minister and former admiral Moe Aung, and air force chief Tun Aung.
The regime’s two armed forces have announced joint military combat and operational training scheduled for later this year. More than 50 joint military activities are planned, according to reports citing Russia’s defense ministry.
The Myanmar military will be eager for any help it can get amid wave after wave of humiliating defeats across the country.
Marching to defeat?
Wednesday’s parade to mark the 79th Armed Forces Day was scaled back, with mechanized units noticeably absent and an unusually large proportion of female marchers. But that didn’t stop Min Aung Hlaing from boasting he would restore stability in northern Shan, Rakhine and Kachin states and other areas where the regime has lost large swaths of territory.
The regime appeared on course to lose all of northern Shan State before a ceasefire agreement was brokered by China in January. Ethnic armies had been poised to attack the military’s regional command in Lashio when China pressured them to agree to a truce. Elsewhere, the Arakan Army is advancing toward Rakhine State’s capital Sittwe after seizing several towns in the westernmost state. In Kachin State, the regime is losing positions by the day.
The failure to recapture territory lost in these areas demonstrates how badly weakened the military has become, underscored by the absence of tanks and armored vehicles from Wednesday’s parade. The display of air power was also noticeably downgraded from last year. Only three Russian fighter jets – two SU-30 SMEs and one MIG-29 – were spotted this year, compared with a fleet of at least 19 warplanes including FTC-2000Gs, K8Ws, Yak 130s that took to the sky for last year’s parade.
To retake the towns his regime has lost, Min Aung Hlaing would have to launch an offensive in northern Shan State – a move that would violate the peace deal brokered by China.
The parade and his military’s performance over the past five months suggest that the junta boss can still bark, but he has lost his bite.
Superstition shadows Armed Forces Day Parade
In what was thought to be a superstitious move, the junta broke with tradition and held this year’s parade at precisely 5.15 pm as the sun went down. Read more
Dictator showers Russian viewers with ‘skyful of lies’
Min Aung Hlaing made his debut appearance on Russian TV with an interview for “The Formula of Power”. Read more
… and claims resistance fighters have sabotaged his election plan
‘So-called People’s Defense Forces’ were trying to ‘sabotage’ the vote, Min Aung Hlaing said in his Armed Forces Day speech. Read more
