Junta Clears Villages for Russia-Backed Dawei Port Project as Min Aung Hlaing Courts Moscow

Reuters reported on August 21, 2026 that Myanmar's military has deployed a roughly 700-strong column, per ACLED, into Tanintharyi Region's Dawei District since July, burning villages and sealing off land to forcibly clear ground for a Russia-backed special economic zone and deep-sea port. Three aid workers from the MAGGA Initiative were detained and killed on July 9 after encountering the column. Resistance fighters said the campaign is intended to secure the SEZ for Russian companies: 'They want to run this Dawei SEZ, so they want to clear the area here.' The offensive follows President Min Aung Hlaing's August 17-18 Moscow visit, where he discussed the Dawei port project with Vladimir Putin alongside energy and nuclear-reactor cooperation.