Naypyidaw sends delegation to Russia for Victory Day and drones
Naypyidaw sent a delegation to Russia on Wednesday to participate in a military parade for the 80th anniversary of Victory Day in Moscow, regime media reported. Sources close to the regime told DVB that the delegation was also tasked with purchasing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or drones, from Russia.
Sources added that Myo Sett Aung, the leader of the delegation, bought at least 100 UAVs in Russia last month. These drones have been reportedly deployed to regime outposts in northern Shan State, southern Shan State, Karenni State, Bago Region, and the Northwestern Regional Military Command (RMC) in the Sagaing Region capital Monywa.
Fighting between regime forces and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) is underway in northern Shan, with Karenni resistance forces in Karenni, and with the Arakan Army (AA) and the People’s Defence Force (PDF) in Bago and Sagaing. Sources told DVB that the regime established a directorate specializing in drone warfare under its Ministry of Defence last year.
Regional counter-terrorism training to include Myanmar military
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chair Malaysia has drawn criticism from civil society in Burma for inviting the military to a counter-terrorism program that provides technical and tactical support. This includes an exercise scheduled for Malaysia in 2026 and a field training exercise in India in 2027.
“ASEAN’s ongoing military cooperation with the Myanmar junta lays bare the utter hypocrisy of its Five-Point Consensus and Malaysia’s hollow calls for peace,” said Yadanar Maung, the Justice For Myanmar spokesperson. The Five Point Consensus is the ASEAN peace plan for Burma that was agreed to by Min Aung Hlaing on April 24, 2021, but not implemented upon his return to Naypyidaw.
ASEAN chair Malaysia and its Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met to discuss peace with Min Aung Hlaing in Thailand on April 17. DVB has documented that the regime carried out 252 attacks since it announced a ceasefire on April 2. The regime participated in the 14th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus Experts Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, co-chaired by Malaysia and India in New Delhi March 19-20.
DVB Radio back on the airwaves inside Myanmar
Following the March 28 earthquake, DVB has been providing daily updates on the death toll, the number injured, as well as daily news coverage of the response. Every day, the DVB data team collects the latest information from the six hardest hit regions by the quake. On Thursday, DVB launched a daily radio program to reach everyone inside Burma, via shortwave radio.
“Radio is a very old medium, but in times of crisis it is the most reliable and widely reached medium. We are happy that we have the chance to get back on the airwaves [in Burma to broadcast critical news] for earthquake victims, even if only temporarily,” said DVB Chief Editor Aye Chan Naing. If you want to support DVB, go to dvb.no/donate.
In the six weeks after Cyclone Mocha in 2023, DVB Radio broadcast into Arakan State daily via emergency shortwave radio. Since then, DVB has used its DVB News podcast to continue to provide critical news in the audio format. Find and listen to DVB Radio online or on the SW band at 9430 kHz 07:30 Myanmar time (01:00 UTC) and at 17500 kHz 19:30 Myanmar time (13:00 UTC).
News by Region
MANDALAY—Residents claimed that the March 28 earthquake caused over 200 cracks and 180 cases of road and soil damage on the Yangon-Naypyidaw-Mandalay highway, which connects Yangon to Mandalay. The road is 336 miles (540 km) long and spans 22 townships.
“Some sections are being repaired but there are many sections which were destroyed,” a truck driver in Mandalay told DVB on the condition of anonymity. He added that the constant detours are costing him time and money. Businesses along the route have had to close.
AYEYARWADY—Six residents of Ngathaingchaung town, displaced from their homes and staying at a camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), were arrested in Yekyi Township on Wednesday. Ngathaingchaung is located 57 miles (97 km) north of the region’s capital Pathein.
“Five boys and one girl, aged 17-20, were arrested at the military inspection gate,” a military source told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Residents claimed that 11 civilians have been arrested in Ngathaingchaung April 19-21 on allegations of supporting the PDF.
Residents of Thabaung, Yekyi, Myanaung and Kyangin townships, which are located close to the Rakhine Yoma (mountains) in Arakan State, said that the military has increased the number of its troops at checkpoints to carry out inspections and arrests.
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