Kamal Ghorui
LUCKNOW: Central agencies claimed to have busted an international terrorist network involving six Ukrainians and one American, linking the group to allegedly plotting attacks targeting India while equipping anti-junta insurgents in Myanmar’s Chin state with military drone capabilities.Three Ukrainian war veterans – Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak and Ivan Sukmanovskyi – were arrested by Bureau of Immigration officials at Lucknow airport on March 13 and handed over to NIA. They have been charged under UAPA.The alleged network was led by US national, Mathew Aron Van Dyke, arrested at Kolkata airport, while three more Ukrainians – Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim and Kaminskyi Viktor – were held in Delhi recently, investigators said Tuesday.Van Dyke, who describes himself online as founder of a security consulting firm and a filmmaker, has claimed involvement in conflicts in Libya and Ukraine and covert operations in Venezuela.All seven accused are in NIA custody as investigators expand the probe into alleged cross-border links, supply chains and possible threats to Indian security.On Monday, additional sessions judge Prashant Sharma at Patiala House Courts in New Delhi sent the group to 11-day police custody, highlighting that the allegations have a direct bearing on “national security and interests of India”. The court held that interrogation is custody is necessary at this stage of the investigation.According to probe details, the Lucknow detainees flew from UAE to India on tourist visas in Dec 2025, travelled to Mizoram without mandatory restricted area permits, and allegedly crossed into Myanmar, where they established contact with armed groups hostile to India.Investigators said the suspects travelled by bus from Guwahati to Lucknow and checked into a hotel near the airport hours before their planned departure. The hotel owner said the trio claimed to be tourists, with one identifying himself as a chef, but avoided questions about prior movements.“Timely submission of Form C by the hotel played a crucial role in tracking them,” a source said.Investigators alleged the group sourced and moved drone consignments from Europe into India and onward to Myanmar, where they trained ethnic insurgents engaged in conflict with the junta.Mizoram CM Lalduhoma had earlier told the state assembly intelligence inputs suggested presence of Ukrainian war veterans in Chin providing training to rebel outfits.With inputs from Delhi
