Russian troops train Myanmar junta forces in Naypyidaw under ‘Tropical Storm’ drill

Russian and Myanmar special forces conducted a joint training exercise, dubbed “Tropical Storm,” at the National Defence College in Naypyidaw from 6 to 17 July, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. Myanmar’s military-run media also referenced the drills in a video released 14 July by Lt. Gen. Pyae Sone Lin, head of the junta’s Military Training Directorate. The drills included a simulated defense of a high-ranking official during an attack on a motorcade and a joint assault on a mock terrorist base, the Russian ministry said, with both militaries deploying FPV drones and the Kurier ground robotic system. Russian instructors led training in drone operation, helicopter rappelling, countering drones with shotguns, and building assaults using a small-arms system called Blik, according to the Russian ministry’s account. The exercise follows a five-year military cooperation pact Moscow and Naypyidaw signed on 3 February, after a visit by Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, and marks a departure from the three previous Russia-Myanmar joint exercises since the coup, which were navy-to-navy drills conducted at sea. This one, by contrast, is the first to involve special forces training on land, inside the capital. The training coincides with an escalating air war that Russian military support has helped sustain. Myanmar Air Force airstrikes have risen roughly 30-fold since the coup, from 90 recorded incidents in 2021 to more than 2,800 in 2025, according to data compiled by DVB, as Russia has supplied the junta with munitions, drones and anti-drone systems and completed delivery of six Su-30 fighter jets in December 2024. ACLED has recorded more than 100,000 conflict-related deaths in Myanmar since the military seized power in February 2021. The exercise coincided with a diplomatic push in the opposite direction: junta-appointed Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe held his first in-person meeting with ASEAN foreign ministers in Bangkok on 12 July, and junta leader Min Aung Hlaing — who declared himself “president” in April — is due to visit Thailand in August as part of a wider bid for regional recognition. The post Russian troops train Myanmar junta forces in Naypyidaw under ‘Tropical Storm’ drill appeared first on ENG.MIZZIMA.COM.