PRESS RELEASE AUGUST 17, 2026 The USA, UK, Canada and the EU need to update existing designations against the junta’s previous executive, legislative and judicial body, the State Administration Council, which has since been rebranded. ASEAN must stop legitimising the illegal junta and ban it from all meetings and events. The junta’s contract to Astra Group demonstrates the threat it poses to ASEAN’s Single Window and regional security and cooperation more broadly. Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: "The Myanmar junta undermines Western sanctions on Russia, and the Russian regime undermines sanctions on Myanmar. "Now a sanctioned company whose software the Russian army runs on is set to build the system that every import and export in Myanmar would pass through. "This should alarm ASEAN and every government that has sanctioned Russia’s militaryindustrial base. "Min Aung Hlaing and Putin, both sanctioned war criminals, are partners in crime. They commit mass atrocities while enriching themselves from the theft of public assets on a grand scale. "The same regime that is committing aggression in Ukraine is supporting an illegal junta to escalate its attacks on the Myanmar people, exchanging methods of brutality with the junta's troops, and profiting from the blood of Myanmar people through dirty deals. "It’s time governments step up, impose new and coordinated sanctions against the Myanmar junta, and target those enabling its deepening links with Russia, including Astra Group and Astra Consulting." More information: Justice For Myanmar is a covert group of activists using research, data visualisation and reporting to expose the companies and criminals profiting from brutality, war crimes and mass-scale suffering. media@justiceformyanmar.org | https://www.justiceformyanmar.org/ https://bsky.app/profile/justiceformyanmar.org | https://www.facebook.com/justiceformyanmar.org/ 4