A US citizen, along with six Ukrainians, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency for illegally crossing into Myanmar through Mizoram to train ethnic groups for handling weapons. The investigation team is now inquiring about who may have helped the American and the Ukrainians to enter the country.
The accused have been identified as US national Matthew Aaron Van Dyke and Ukrainian nationals Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim, and Kaminskyi Viktor. The NIA is examining their digital footprints to establish the identities of other suspected members of the network.
The accused had been traveling to Myanmar since 2024. They allegedly supplied drones and jamming equipment and imparted training to ethnic groups, the team said. The aforementioned people did not disclose details of the intelligence shared by Russia or the nature of its role in the arrests. They asserted NIA teams had been operating in the northeastern region for almost three months to trace the whereabouts of the suspects. The seven individuals were arrested at airports in Delhi, Lucknow, and Kolkata on March 13.
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An NIA spokesperson refused to share details and said in a statement: “Since the case is in the initial stage of investigation, we will not be able to share the details with you at this stage. The same will be shared at an appropriate time.”
On Wednesday, an Indian lawyer representing the Ukrainians withdrew from the case, citing “professional exigencies."
The US embassy has maintained secrecy on revealing details. It said it is aware of the matter and declined to say more. US ambassador Sergio Gor on Wednesday said on social media that he had an “extremely fruitful meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval” that covered critical security and geopolitical issues. “Strategic cooperation between the United States and India continues to advance,” he said.
Ukrainian ambassador Oleksandr Polishchuk said that his country is ready to cooperate in the investigation against the six Ukrainians and wants the process to be “objective and fair," Hindustan Times reported.
“The process against the arrested Ukrainian nationals must be open. India should involve Ukrainian experts, and Ukraine is ready to cooperate under the terms of the treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters that has been in effect since 2003,” Polishchuk said. “We are not in any way forcing the courts, and the judicial process must be objective and fair.”
As per NIA's statement in the court, the seven accused allegedly entered India on tourist visas on separate dates, and “flew to Guwahati, and thereafter, they travelled to Mizoram without requisite documents—Restricted Area Permit (RAP)/Protected Area Permit (PAP). ”.
The people also allegedly “entered Myanmar illegally, and they were planning to carry out a pre-scheduled training for Myanmar-based ethnic armed groups, known to support terror organizations/gangs operating in India in the domain of drone warfare, drone operations, assembly and jamming technology, etc., targeting the Myanmar Junta," the NIA said.
People familiar with the matter claimed the Ukrainian officials were concerned about due process, including whether its nationals were presented before a judge within 24 hours of arrest, as is legally required, and made aware of the charges against them in the Ukrainian language. "This is one of the reasons why there has been a call for them to be provided with an interpreter," they said.
The team is also concerned about consular access not being provided so far, the report added. The people also clarified that the US side has not yet sought consular access to VanDyke.