Russian tip-off led to the arrest of US national VanDyke, six Ukrainians by NIA

RUssian authorities shared info with their amerindic counterparts on the activities of sestet Ukrainian nationals and a US citizen arrested by the subject investigating Agency (NIA) for allegedly training ethnic armed groups in Myanmar, people familiar with the matter said.Indian agencies are now focused on identifying those who may have assisted the American citizen, Mathew Aaron VanDyke, and the Ukrainian nationals in travelling to Mizoram and crossing into Myanmar, officials said.The group is suspected to have been making trips to Myanmar since 2024, allegedly supplying drones and jamming equipment and imparting training to ethnic groups, they added.The people cited above did not disclose details of the intelligence shared by Russia or the extent of its role in the arrests. They said NIA teams had been operating in the north-east for nearly three months to track the suspects. The seven individuals were arrested at airports in Delhi, Lucknow and Kolkata on March 13.On Monday, the seven -- VanDyke, Maksym Honcharuk, Petro Hubra, Sukmanovskyi Ivan, Stefankiv Marian, Slyviak Taras and Kaminskyi Viktor -- were remanded to NIA custody till March 27 by a Delhi court.As the six detained Ukrainians were reportedly part of a group of 14 people that had travelled to Myanmar, the officials cited above said that authorities are currently trying to ascertain if the other eight are still in Myanmar or have left via India.A NIA spokesperson too declined to go into 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 only 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.It couldn’t immediately be ascertained whether VanDyke’s case figured in the discussions.Ukrainian ambassador Oleksandr Polishchuk told HT that his country is ready to cooperate in the probe against the six Ukrainians and wants the process to be “objective and fair”.“The process against the arrested Ukrainian nationals must be open. The Indian side 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.”What NIA saidAccording to NIA’s submission in court, the seven individuals 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 individuals also allegedly “entered Myanmar illegally and they were to conduct a pre-scheduled training for Myanmar-based ethnic armed groups, known to support terror organisations/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 said the Ukrainian side has concerns 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.There are also concerns about consular access not being provided so far, the people said. The people also clarified that the US side has not yet sought consular access to VanDyke.The NIA has told the court that VanDyke and the six Ukrainians have admitted during questioning that they conducted training for ethnic armed groups in Myanmar on more than one occasion, in addition to “illegally importing huge consignments of drones from Europe to Myanmar via India” for use by these groups.However, the people cited above said no evidence has been shared about the crimes that the Ukrainian nationals have been accused of. While making it clear that there are no doubts about the professionalism of the Indian judiciary, the people said it is imperative to ensure there is no manipulation of the evidence against the Ukrainian nationals.They said there is no likelihood of any official sanction for such activities at a time when Ukraine and India are working to elevate their relations to a strategic partnership, in line with a statement from the leaders of the two sides in 2024. Ukraine has also had no active contacts with Myanmar since the junta came to power, the people said.While NIA began probing the matter recently, Mizoram chief minister Lalduhoma had said in the state assembly in March 2025 that nearly 2,000 foreigners visited Mizoram between June and December 2024 and many of them didn’t come as tourists and left the state unnoticed. He also alleged that UK and US nationals had illegally crossed into Myanmar from Mizoram to provide arms training to insurgents in the neighbouring country.Van Dyke, according to his website, is from Baltimore and has worked as a soldier, international businessman and war correspondent after failing to join the CIA. He claims to be a founder of a military contracting firm called Sons of Liberty International.