Irrawaddy-Sept 20
Myanmar will likely see more civilian deaths as Russia will soon deliver new Sukhoi SU-30SM jet fighters to the military regime that is employing deadly airstrikes against civilians and resistance forces. Junta spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun said on Tuesday that coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing personally inspected the production and testing of the planes at the Irkustsk Aviation Plant during his visit to Russia this month. “They all will be delivered soon,” said the junta chief. Russia has been assembling the six fighter jets for Myanmar under a contract worth around US$204 million that was signed in 2018. The first two jets were delivered in March this year, so the remaining four will likely be delivered soon. Myanmar’s military has long been a patron of Russian military hardware. Russia is also one of the few countries Min Aung Hlaing can visit, as most nations have shunned him and his regime since last year’s coup, which was followed by bloody crackdowns that have killed over 2,000 civilians so far. Min Aung Hlaing has visited Russia three times since the military takeover and is a fan of Russian weapons saying “I like them”. Stockholm’s International Peace Research Institute said that Russia also sold US$247 million worth of arms to Myanmar between 2015 and 2021. The regime’s revelation of the impending delivery of new warplanes comes as Myanmar is mourning the death of 11 school children, some as young as seven, killed last Friday in junta airstrikes and ground assaults on a monastic school in Sagaing Region. Witnesses said that Russian-made MI-35 helicopters opened fire on the school, which the regime claimed was harboring resistance fighters, an accusation rejected by local people. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-junta-to-receive-new-russian-jet-fighters.html
