Russia to help select and train first Myanmar cosmonaut

Dmitry Bakanov, the head of the Russian state space corporation, Roscosmos, attends a meeting at the Skolkovo Innovation Centre in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Ekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik, Government Pool Photo via AP)

MOSCOW - 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.