NAYPYITAW, 07 October 2021, (TON): According to activist group Justice For Myanmar (JFM) “eighteen Myanmar navy personnel were denied entry to Ukraine last week and flew to Malaysia to apply for visas from the country’s embassy in Kuala Lumpur (KL).”

The personnel were part of a 20-person delegation travelling to Ukraine in connection to a Myanmar navy frigate construction project involving two Ukrainian state-owned arms companies: Ukroboronservice and Zorya-Mashproyekt, JFM reported.

According to photos provided to Myanmar Now by JFM, the military personnel were seen gathering with their luggage in what was believed to be the Kyiv airport, with some lying on the ground.

The JFM source said “[They] could not pass through immigration and were deported after sleeping in the [Kyiv] airport for about two days. They left on a flight to KL via Doha and have also been stuck in the KL airport, unable to pass through immigration. Right now they are trying to get visas from the Ukrainian embassy in KL in order to return to Ukraine.”

A total of 22 people from the Myanmar delegation checked in to the Sama Sama transit hotel in the Kuala Lumpur airport on October 3 and are checking out on October 8, according to hotel staff.