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Russia to help select and train first Myanmar cosmonaut

February 26, 2026 10:05 AM EST

Head of the Roscosmos space corporation Dmitry Bakanov walks, on the day of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Chris Williams, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev, lifts off to the International Space Station (ISS)

MOSCOW, Feb 26 (Reuters) - ‌Russia said ​on ​Thursday it will help select and train Myanmar's first cosmonaut in ‌a sign of growing ties with ⁠the Southeast Asian state.

The offer was made during ‌a visit to Myanmar ‌this week by Dmitry Bakanov, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, who signed ​an agreement with his Myanmar counterpart on developing cooperation in human space ⁠flight.

Roscosmos said Bakanov also met Min Aung Hlaing, head of ​Myanmar's military junta.

Myanmar will deploy a data-collection station for Russia's GLONASS satellite ​navigation system, and provide a ‌site for a warning system to track hazardous objects in near-Earth ⁠space, Roscosmos said.

Min Aung Hlaing visited Moscow last year for talks with President Vladimir ⁠Putin, and the two countries subsequently signed an investment ​deal that Russia hopes will open up opportunities in Myanmar for its energy companies.

Russia has also contracted ‌to build a small-scale nuclear plant in Myanmar, where the junta ‌seized power in 2021 by toppling ⁠the elected government ‌of Nobel Peace ​Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Sharon ‌Singleton)



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