In the more than four years since the Myanmar military launched an illegal coup attempt, the Belarus regime has deepened its ties with the junta, providing arms, equipment and training that builds the technical capacity of the military and its domestic arms industry.

An investigation by Justice For Myanmar has uncovered new evidence of the significant and ongoing military collaboration between the Myanmar military and Belarus regime as the military wages a campaign of terror against the people, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity with impunity. Since the military’s coup attempt, the junta has steadily lost effective control to resistance forces and increasingly relies on its air force to carry out aerial attacks that involve kill civilians, destroy schools and hospitals and cause mass displacement. The Belarus regime’s provision of arms and education that benefits the defence industry in Myanmar makes it complicit in international crimes.

Leaked correspondence between the Myanmar junta’s air defence command and the two principal Belarusian state authorities responsible for weapons production and export from Belarus attest to the transfer, from Belarus, of a custom-designed operational air defence command system and weapons to the Myanmar junta. Based in Naypyidaw, the junta’s air defence forces are under the command of the Myanmar army, while working closely with the air force. The air defence forces are regularly mobilised for intercepting drones which are increasingly being used by resistance forces across the country.

A letter dated 12 August 2020 from Igor Demidenko, the First Deputy Minister of the State Authority for Military Industry of Belarus (SAMI), to Lieutenant General Tin Maung Win, the Chief of the Myanmar Air Defence Forces, confirms a visit by Tin Maung Win to Belarus in 2020. SAMI is the Belarusian state authority  responsible for weapons development and exports. It is currently subject to sanctions by the US, the UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Ukraine over its key role in directing the Belarusian defence industry. Tin Maung Win’s visit to Minsk reportedly entailed a “practical tour and live demonstration” of an Air Defence and Air Force Central Command Centre of the “MADOC system”. Reporting on Tin Maung Win’s visit to Minsk, Belarusian state media noted that the purpose of the visit by the Myanmar delegation was to “explore opportunities for enhancing Myanmar's air defence capabilities”. The Myanmar delegation visited several Belarusian defence enterprises for pitches on their development and production, maintenance and modernization of various “air defence means”. While in Minsk, Tin Maung Win also met with Roman Golovchenko, Chairman of the SAMI, for discussions about joint air defence projects and to further bilateral cooperation. Tin Maung Win also visited Belarus in December 2018 for demonstrations of Belarusian air defence systems, according to leaked correspondence seen by Justice For Myanmar.

A second letter, dated 10 January 2022, from Belarus’ state-owned foreign trade unitary enterprise (Belspetsvneshtechnika, BSVT) to the EU-sanctioned Major General Aung Lin Tun, the Myanmar junta’s then Deputy Minister of Defence, confirms the ongoing implementation of at least three contracts between Belarus and Myanmar. The BSVT engages in “scientific, production and foreign trade activity (including rendering of intermediary services) related to military goods and dual-purpose products, encryption means (works, services), means of secret information obtaining and other products.” Operating under the purview of SAMI, the BSVT is currently subject to sanctions by the US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ukraine.

The fact that written exchanges between SAMI/BSVT and the Myanmar junta date to January 2022 confirms that military collaboration has continued unabated since the Myanmar military’s attempted coup on 1 February 2021. Notably, the leaked letters refer to contracts dated August 2019 and June 2021 and provide additional details on three separate supplies provided under that contract: a MADOC/ADF, a V3D/ADF and a GMS-II/ADF.

Justice For Myanmar has reason to believe that MADOC refers to Myanmar Air Defence Operational Command and considers it highly likely that the BSVT has developed and supplied a custom-made operational command system to the Myanmar Air Defence Forces. The BSVT’s product catalogue notably includes the “Panorama” automation means system of central control post of air forces and air defence which is intended to be used at air force and air defence command posts at operational and tactical levels.  

The V3D is likely a reference to the “Vostok” 3D radar system which is marketed by the BSVT as a radar specifically designed to “detect aerial objects, measure their distance, azimuth, altitude and radial speed, track targets in automatic mode, and transfer radar data to the integrated control system.” The system has been designed and developed by JSC KB Radar, the managing company of Minsk-based Radar Systems Holding. Radar Systems Holding describes itself as jointly coordinating the “development and introduction of radar systems and electronic warfare assets”. The company carries out “military-technical cooperation of the Republic of Belarus with foreign states” and is currently subject to sanctions by the US, the UK, Ukraine, Switzerland, New Zealand,  Australia, the EU and Japan.

The GMS-II/ADF project likely refers to a ground-based missile system (GMS) and relate to the Kvadrat-M surface to air missile (SAM) system that Belarus has previously supplied to Myanmar. Developed by Belarusian company Alevkurp JSC, Myanmar obtained three Kvadrat-M SAM system and 100 associated surface-to-air missiles (3M9) in 2016, according to data from the Stockholm international peace research institute. The Kvadrat-M Sam system was showcased by the Myanmar junta at the Myanmar Armed Forces day celebrations in March 2016. A leaked letter from the Office of the Chief of Air Defence confirms a meeting, held in September 2017, between Aung Myo Htun, the then deputy chief of staff of the Myanmar Air Defence Force, and representatives of BSVT to discuss a contract for the supply of spare parts for the Kvadrat-M system and spares for “Vostok-E & Marker-M.” Similar to the Vostok 3D, Vostok-E is a mobile, digital very high frequency radar, while Marker-M is a multilateration aircraft positioning complex designed and manufactured by JSC KB Radar, the producer of the V3D radar system. Marker-M tracks stealthy aerial targets using output from friend-or-foe identification, object positioning control and data interchange with an automated control system for air traffic.

Planeloads of cash for arms

Leaked correspondence concerning the recent deals between the Myanmar military and Belarus suggest that the military junta is increasingly struggling to pay for its international purchases of weapons and associated material. A leaked letter dated January 2022 confirms that the BSVT had yet to receive, though a transfer from the Myanma Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB), payments for the orders from Belarus and makes a direct request to the Myanmar military’s Directorate of Procurement to swiftly make these payments in cash “as per previous practice”. The request also notes that the Belarusian regime can send an aircraft to Naypydaw to collect the cash, making reference to a prior practice of having done so in Myanmar. A June 2024 report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar confirmed that the military junta continued to be heavily reliant on MFTB to purchase military supplies from abroad. The MFTB is subject to sanctions by Australia, USA and Canada.

Leaked letters seen by Justice For Myanmar also confirms the role of two Myanmar arms brokers in Belarusian-Myanmar military collaboration: Dynasty Group of Companies and Global Top Link Technologies. In response to Belarus’ reminder for the junta to transfer money for purchased goods and services, Aung Moe Myint, President and CEO of Dynasty Group, wrote to representatives of SAMI and BSVT in February 2022, proposing to organize a meeting between officials of the MFTB and Belarusbank or a “Belarusian financial specialist” for the outstanding payments to be resolved.  By the same letter, Aung Moe Myint also confirms competition with Myanmar arms broker – Top Link Technologies and its CEO Dr Sein Htoo, a Myanmar representative of Belarusian arms company Kidma Tech – with Aung Moe Myint requesting that the BSVT make clear to the “Myanmar side” that Dr Sein Htoo does not have the authority to facilitate any educational arrangements of Myanmar military students to Belarus. Dynasty Group of Companies (also known as Dynasty International), which was previously exposed by Justice For Myanmar, has close ties to the Belarus regime and is currently listed as the official representative of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with Aung Moe Myint also acting as the Honorary Consult of Myanmar to the Republic of Belarus.

As Justice For Myanmar has previously revealed, the company  has brokered the purchase of arms and related material from Russia, Belarus and Germany after the military’s coup attempt. The company is sanctioned by the EU, US, Canada and UK. Acting as the BVST’s regional representative to Myanmar, Aung Moe Myint plays a key role in the continued supply of weapons and military material from Belarus to Myanmar. Leaked correspondence, released by Distributed Denial of Secrets, between Dynasty Group and a "leading specialist" of the Belarusian company Unitary Enterprise Tetraedr (Tetraedr UE) also confirm an earlier negotiation of a cooperation agreement in which Dynasty Group would receive a "due service charge" for negotiating the sale of arms. Tetraedr researches, designs and markets software, armament and radio electronic equipment and systems.

Myanmar military personnel being trained in Minsk

Photographic and written evidence seen by Justice For Myanmar confirms that several Myanmar military students arrived in Minsk in March 2023 for studies at the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics (BSUIR). Evidence supplied to Justice For Myanmar confirms that several of the Myanmar military students were still present in Minsk in June 2025. Their arrival in Minsk follows an earlier visit to Minsk by a batch of military personnel from Myanmar’s arms production factories in November and December 2018.  

BSUIR is actively involved in the military domain, primarily through its dedicated military-research faculty. The faculty comprises several specialized departments, including for communication, tactical and general military training, and radio-electronic engineering for the Belarusian air force.

Credible human sources have confirmed to Justice For Myanmar that military personnel currently enrolled at BSUIR are conducting research in radio-electronic engineering - a key research area of the BSUIR’s military faculty. Justice For Myanmar has obtained information confirming that the Myanmar military personnel currently studying at the BSUIR are working for various weapon production facilities in Myanmar, including Defence Industry (DI) 4 in Tat Kon, Naypyidaw, DI 20 in Ngape, Magway, and Myanmar Heavy Industry 10 in Meiktila, Mandalay. As has been noted elsewhere, DI 4 is the central hub among the junta’s 25 weapon production facilities as it is tasked with conducting research and producing designs for new weapons to be made in Myanmar. DI 4 also manufactures tooling and gauges for computer numerical control machines being used for arms production in Myanmar and provides maintenance and repair of machines in use at weapon production factories. According to sources close to the military, DI 20 produces anti-aircraft guns, including automatic cannons, reportedly with technical assistance from China North Industries Group Corporation (NORINCO). Myanmar Heavy Industries 10 produces components for aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Based on the profiles of the Myanmar defence industry students currently at BSUIR, their research will likely be used for the development of air defence-related radar systems.  

Justice For Myanmar considers it likely that additional Myanmar military-affiliated students will be trained at various universities in Belarus, including at the BSUIR. In January 2025, BSUIR's First Vice-Rector, M.V. Ravydov, visited Myanmar as part of a delegation led by Belarus's Foreign Affairs Minister, M.V. Ryzhenkov and met with representatives from Yangon University, Yangon Technological University, and the University of Computer Studies in Yangon. According to Belarusian sources, these meetings resulted in various research departments of BSUIR submitting proposals “to equip classrooms and laboratories of Myanmar universities with microwave technology and equipment”. Microwave technology is used for the development of radar systems, enabling them to detect objects and find their locations by transmitting and analysing electromagnetic waves in the microwave range.

In late May 2025, Ihar Voitau, the principal of the Belarusian State Technological University (BSTU) also met with the junta’s Major-General Ko Lay and Brigadier-General Kyaw Soe Oo, the latter being the military, navy and air force attaché of Myanmar’s Embassy to Belarus and Russia. The parties discussed issues related to training of Myanmar students at BSTU and met with 34 students from Myanmar that are currently completing advanced studies at various Belarusian universities, including the BSTU. BSTU has a stand-alone military training department, which currently offers specialized training relating to the work of ground forces motorized rifle platoons and arms logistics support. Public sources confirm the presence, in 2023, of several Myanmar students at the Belarusian State Technological University (BSTU).

According to Belarusian media reporting, Min Aung Hlaing’s official visit to Minsk on 6 and 7 March 2025 also resulted in the signing of agreements with the Belarusian State University (BSU) and with BSUIR. Notably, a memorandum of understanding between BSUIR and the University of Computer Studies in Yangon was signed on 6 March 2025. On 23 May 2025, a Myanmar delegation visited the Belarusian State University (BSU) to discuss cooperation, partnerships, as admission of foreign students to the BSU. The BSU has signed memorandums of understanding with the University of Yangon, Mandalay University, Mandalay University of Foreign Languages (MUFL), and currently hosts ten Myanmar students. BSU has a dedicated military faculty that runs several study programs with a military focus, including in law, international relations in the military sphere and military geo-information systems.  

Arms transfers and training part of long-standing and significant Belarus-Myanmar military cooperation

Belarus is a long-standing partner of the Myanmar military junta, with frequent official visits between senior representatives taking place that involve negotiations on the sale of arms and equipment and military technical cooperation. This year alone, junta head and war criminal Min Aung Hlaing made two visits to Belarus.

On 26 June 2025, while on official business in Minsk, Min Aung Hlaing met with representatives of the Belarusian arms company Belarusian Optical and Mechanical Organization (BelOMO Holding). BelOMO Holding specializes in R&D and production of laser, optoelectronic and optomechanical devices, including small arms-related night vision devices for enhanced night-time visibility and targeting. The company also manufactures components for air brake devices such as brake systems for heavy trucks. According to reporting from the event, Min Aung Hlaing expressed interest in strengthening cooperation, including in the field of optical-electronic instrumentation. Also on 26 June 2025, in the presence of Belarusian dictators Alexander Lukashenko, Min Aung Hlaing visited the Minsk International Exhibition Centre BELEXPO for a demonstration of recent “achievements” of Belarusian mechanical engineering, including military and other special equipment produced in Belarus.

On 25 June 2025, Colonel Dmitry Ryabikhin, deputy head of the department of international military cooperation at the Belarusian Ministry of Defence met with Brigadier-General Kyaw Soe Oo, the military attaché of the Myanmar embassy in Minsk, to discuss “bilateral military cooperation activities.”

In March 2025,  Min Aung Hlaing also travelled to Belarus where he met with Lukashenko. The Myanmar junta’s Ministry of Information noted that Min Aung Hlaing and Lukashenko discussed “plans to promote cooperation in the defence sector.” On 28 March 2025, Min Aung Hlaing and the Belarusian Defence Minister Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin met in Naypyidaw to discuss the ongoing implementation of cooperation agreements, including in defence and military technology. Khrenin also met with the junta’s Minister of Defence, General Maung Maung Aye and signed an agreement to strengthen military cooperation.

Diplomatic ties between Myanmar and Belarus date back to 1999, which is the year the Myanmar air defence command was established. A Belarusian Honorary Consulate was established in Yangon in 2011, with arms broker Aung Moe Myint of Dynasty Group of Companies being appointed Honorary Consul.

Since 2014, meetings between Min Aung Hlaing and senior representatives of the Myanmar military, and their Belarusian counterparts have been increasingly frequent. In November 2014, Min Aung Hlaing travelled on a first official visit to Minsk for official meetings with President Lukashenko and Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich. Meeting with Min Aung Hlaing, Lukashenko noted Belarus’ readiness to “cooperate with Myanmar in the military-technical sphere, training of personnel.”

Military collaboration between the Myanmar military and Belarus is taking place under the auspices of a Myanmar-Belarus joint military commission on technical cooperation. former minister of Defence, Major General Aung Lin Tun and Igor Demidenko of SAMI. The commission meets annually to discuss arms sales, manufacturing, technology transfer and training. Among other outcomes, past meetings between Myanmar and Belarus held under the auspices of joint military commission have entailed Belarus offering to repair and modernize Myanmar’s armaments and military equipment and the production of advanced military products with the possibility of transferring relevant technologies.

Belarus is also implicated in transfers of arms and equipment from other jurisdictions to the Myanmar military. Russian shipment data obtained by Justice For Myanmar confirms two shipments from JSC Russian Helicopters to the Myanmar military’s Directorate of Procurement in December 2023. The goods, which are presumably spare parts, are listed as originating from Belarus. JSC Russian Helicopters manufactures helicopter gunships, including Mil Mi-24/35P, used by the Myanmar military in a significant number of airstrikes since 2021.  

Belarusian companies have also played a direct role in the transfer of arms to Myanmar from Serbia. In February 2021, Rada Airlines, transported hundreds of Serbian-made 80mm rockets to Myanmar.

More sanctions needed to target Belarus-Myanmar military links

Targeted sanctions are needed to address the continued complicity of the Belarus regime and its businesses in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Myanmar.

Efforts are also urgently needed to hinder and disrupt shipments of arms from Belarus to Myanmar, including by coordinated sanctions on arms companies, intermediaries, vessels and banks involved in the trade.

While the EU, UK, USA and Canada have sanctioned the Myanmar arms broker and honoury consul of Belarus to Myanmar Aung Moe Myint and his company, Dynasty International, these sanctions have failed to target his whole business network. Aung Moe Myint’s associate, Myo Thitsar, has only been sanctioned by the USA and UK, and the company’s Singapore subsidiary, Dynasty Excellency Pte. Ltd. has not been sanctioned in any jurisdiction. Sanctions should be widened and coordinated to cover the whole Dynasty Group network and its directors and shareholders, as well as Global Top Link Technologies Company Limited and its CEO Dr Sein Htoo, and other Myanmar military arms brokers.

Justice For Myanmar calls on Western jurisdictions to coordinate tracking and inspection of suspicious cargo on vessels and aircraft known to move between Belarus and Myanmar, notably through transit countries, and to strengthen customs scrutiny at transit hubs through which Myanmar-bound cargo  from Belarus may be routed.  

While Ukraine-related sanctions have been imposed on key Belarusian entities and individuals who are also involved in the sale of arms and equipment to the Myanmar military, sanctions should be widened in response to Belarussian complicity in Myanmar. In particular, BSUIR, BSTU and BSU and their leadership should be targeted for sanctions and a wider academic boycott over their links to the Myanmar junta.

The international community needs to stand with the people of Myanmar who have courageously resisted a criminal junta for over four years. Governments must take decision action to cut off the junta’s sources of arms, equipment and technology, from Belarus and elsewhere.