Three Ukrainian war veterans – Petro Hraba, Taras Slivyak and Ivan Sukmanovsky were arrested by Immigration Bureau officials at Lucknow airport on 13 March and handed over to the NIA. He has been charged under UAPA.
Investigators on Tuesday said the alleged network was led by US citizen Matthew Aaron Van Dyke, who was arrested at the Kolkata airport, while three other Ukrainians – Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maxim and Kaminsky Victor – were recently caught in Delhi.
Van Dyke, who describes himself online as the founder of a security consulting firm and a filmmaker, has claimed to be involved in conflicts in Libya and Ukraine and covert operations in Venezuela.
All seven accused are in NIA custody as investigators expand their probe into alleged cross-border links, supply chains and potential threats to Indian security.
On Monday, Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Sharma at New Delhi’s Patiala House Court sent the group to 11-day police custody, underscoring that the charges have a direct bearing on “national security and India’s interests”. The court held that custodial interrogation is necessary at this stage of the investigation.
According to investigation details, the Lucknow detainees flew to India from the UAE on tourist visas in December 2025, traveled to Mizoram without mandatory restricted area permits and allegedly entered Myanmar, where they established contacts with armed groups hostile to India.
Investigators said the suspects traveled by bus from Guwahati to Lucknow and stayed at a hotel near the airport a few hours before their scheduled departure. The hotel owner said all three claimed to be tourists, with one calling himself a chef, but avoided questions about prior activities.
“Timely submission of Form C by the hotel played an important role in tracking them,” said a source.
Investigators allege the group transported drones from Europe to India and then to Myanmar, where they trained ethnic rebels involved in the conflict with the junta.
Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma had earlier told the state assembly that intelligence inputs suggested the presence of Ukrainian war veterans training insurgent organizations in Chin.
With inputs from Delhi
