Regime re-opens oil refinery in Yangon to cut fuel imports

Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing attended the re-opening ceremony of the Thanlyin Oil Refinery (Phase 1) in Yangon Region’s Thanlyin Township on Wednesday. Thanlyin is located nine miles (14 km) southeast of Burma’s commercial capital Yangon. 

“The refinery is a vital step towards reducing foreign currency expenditure, supplying domestic energy needs and sustaining long-term economic benefits,” Min Aung Hlaing said in his opening remarks at the ceremony in Yangon on Oct. 14.

The refinery, operating under the regime’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MoEE), is designed to process 500,000 tons of crude oil annually. Following the first two phases, which is scheduled for 2028, total annual processing capacity is expected to reach three million tons.

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Chinese firms helping Myanmar’s military build a jet-fuel refinery

Civil society groups challenge World Bank in Bangkok

Civil society organizations from Burma, including Progressive Voice founder Khin Ohmar, led a high-profile debate and discussion at the 2026 IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday. Ohmar directly questioned World Bank Group (WBG) President Ajay Banga to bypass the regime in Naypyidaw and engage with the democratic resistance movement inside the country. 

“The Bank must engage with civil society operating outside military control to give input … into the Myanmar context so the Bank can implement its humanitarian responses through third parties with integrity, safeguards, and meaningful objectives,” Ohmar said at a civil society roundtable with the WBG on Oct. 12, while calling for its local team to respond to formal letters and meeting requests.

Ohmar and other civil society representatives pressed for all World Bank funds to be diverted from the regime coffers towards independent local authorities and third-party monitors. Highlighting the delivery of aid to the regime after the March 2025 earthquake, the delegation emphasized that direct collaboration with local networks remains the only viable path to deliver aid safely without it being weaponized.

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Read all 6 of Khin Ohmar’s letters to a young activist

The first episode in our six-part series: Myanmar’s Nuclear Ambitions is available now on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. (Credit: DVB)

Myanmar’s nuclear pact with Russia examined

To address severe electricity shortages across Burma, the regime in Naypyidaw has partnered with Moscow to develop nuclear energy. It maintains that this cooperation is intended for peaceful purposes, such as generating power, conducting scientific research, and advancing applications in medicine and agriculture. But questions have been raised regarding security, transparency, safety, and accountability.

A review of public records shows over 20 agreements and memorandums signed between the two countries since the early 2000s: a 2007 agreement establishing plans for a nuclear research center, a comprehensive 2023 framework agreement covering 14 areas of peaceful nuclear sector development, and a 2025 agreement on principles for building a land-based nuclear power plant utilizing small modular reactors. 

Russian state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom announced that site construction for the “small modular nuclear power plant” in Burma will begin in 2027, marking a major expansion of energy ties between Moscow and Naypyidaw. Burma opened its first Nuclear Technology Information Center in Yangon in 2023. Each of the six episodes examining the pact between Burma and Russia will be released on Fridays.

Watch Episode 1 on DVB English News YouTube

News by Region

ARAKAN—Commercial trade has completely halted at the “Indian Market” in Kyauktaw Township, which was the primary distribution hub for goods imported from India’s Mizoram State into Arakan Army (AA) controlled territory, after 50 people were killed during two airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar Air Force on Sept. 28. 

A shop owner at the market in Kyauktaw told DVB on the condition of anonymity that sales in the local markets have been drastically cut by 70 per cent after the devastating airstrikes. Kyauktaw, located 60 miles (96 km) north of the state capital Sittwe, was seized by the AA in February 2024. Read the full article on our website

NAYPYIDAW—The pro-military parliament on Wednesday approved a proposal for an unspecified amount of export loans from two state-owned banks in Belarus, the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus (DBRB) and Belinvestbank, which was submitted by regime Deputy Finance and Revenue Minister Than Than Lin on Oct. 6. 

The loans are available in Belarusian rubles, Russian rubles, Chinese yuan, U.S. dollars and Euros, with a maximum term of five years. The interest rate ranges from 2.25 to 9.33 per cent, depending on the loan currency and the category of exported goods. Borrowers must also pay an insurance premium, which varies according to the loan term.

SAGAING—A People’s Defence Force (PDF) member was killed during two airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force in Wuntho Township on Tuesday. The PDF told DVB that fighting with regime forces took place in Wuntho after regime forces advanced from neighboring Indaw Township’s Maiza village. 

Regime forces recaptured Maiza on Oct. 9 from the PDF, which seized it in 2025. Wuntho is located 35 miles (55 km) southwest of Indaw and 181 miles (291 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa. A regime counteroffensive was launched in September to regain control of strategic positions along the Shwebo-Myitkyina road. Read the full article on our website

(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,530 MMK)